The most popular fish on school menus, banned in France due to its toxicity: are you concerned too?
Tuna, one of the most commonly consumed fish in daily life and a staple in school menus, has been removed from public cafeterias in eight French cities, including Paris and Lyon. This measure is significant: it affects millions of students and raises a debate that unsettles families, authorities, and the food industry itself.
Mercury, in the spotlight
It all started with an independent investigation that analyzed 148 cans of canned tuna. The result was clear: all contained mercury, a heavy metal considered one of the most dangerous pollutants for health. In more than half of the samples, the levels exceeded the maximum limit set for other fish such as cod or anchovies.
European regulations, however, are more lenient with tuna and allow up to 1 mg/kg in fresh. The problem is that, in canned form, dehydration further concentrates the contaminant, reaching levels that can multiply by almost ten times the limits allowed for other species.
A preventive decision
Given the risk that children and adolescents may easily exceed the tolerable threshold of mercury exposure, local authorities chose to remove this fish from school cafeterias. The fear is not unfounded: once ingested, mercury can accumulate in the brain and cause long-term neurological damage, affecting memory, learning ability, and motor development.
The industry defends itself
The canned food sector, for its part, claims that its products comply with current regulations and that internal controls reflect mercury levels below legal limits. It also questions the methods used in the study that has sparked the controversy.
And in Spain?
The French ban will remain in place until the mercury limits for tuna are equal to those for other fish, set at 0.3 mg/kg. This movement has reopened a debate that could extend to other European countries. And here arises the question: if France has decided to apply the precautionary principle, should Spanish school cafeterias consider the same?
Patricia González
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