Tuna sushi in US busts recommended levels for mercury: study

PARIS — Tuna sushi bought at a range of US restaurants and supermarkets had mercury that breached levels set by health watchdogs, a study published on Wednesday said.

The offending samples included bluefin tuna, the hugely-prized species that has been plunged into a fierce conservation battle, the researchers reported in the British journal Biology Letters.

One hundred sushi samples were collected from 54 restaurants and 15 supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and Colorado, comprising “akami” (lean red tuna) as well as “toro” (fatty tuna).

The species were identified using a DNA fingerprint test and the samples were then tested for mercury levels.<more..>