Canned Tuna

Albacore/white canned tuna eaten frequently.

48Moderate burden · out of 100

Cleaner swapLight skipjack tuna or small oily fish like sardines

How this score is built

100Start
77Chemical hazard 5 × 4.6−23
63.4Everyday exposure 4 × 3.4−13.6
48Persistence 6 × 2.6−15.6, then rounded to 48
ModerateThe band48 sits in 40–59.

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
Input	Rating	Evidence
Chemical hazard	5/10	In a Faroe Islands birth cohort of 1,022 children, prenatal methylmercury exposure from the mother's diet was linked at age 7 to poorer language, attention and memory, still seen after excluding children whose mothers had hair mercury above 10 µg/g. Cognitive deficit in 7-year-old children with prenatal exposure to methylmercury · Neurotoxicol Teratol 1997 DOI 10.1016/s0892-0362(97)00097-4 · PMID 9392777 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09
Everyday exposure	4/10	In 168 cans bought in New Jersey from 1998 to 2003, white (albacore) tuna averaged 0.407 ppm mercury against 0.118 ppm for light tuna, and 25% of white tuna cans exceeded 0.5 ppm. Mercury in canned tuna: white versus light and temporal variation · Environ Res 2004 DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2003.12.001 · PMID 15364590 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09
Persistence	6/10	In 27 volunteers who ate fish at the tolerable weekly methylmercury intake for 14 weeks, blood mercury rose from 6.7 to 26.9 ng/g, and its half-life after they stopped was 94 days (57 days after subtracting background). Hair-to-blood ratio and biological half-life of mercury: experimental study of methylmercury exposure through fish consumption in humans · J Toxicol Sci 2012 DOI 10.2131/jts.37.123 · PMID 22293416 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

The persistence rating is the standout concern here — these compounds linger in the body and environment for years. Larger tuna accumulate methylmercury, which builds up in the body. Choosing smaller 'light' tuna or sardines keeps the omega-3s with far less mercury.

Evidence strength: strong

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Lower-exposure choices

Cruciferous VegetablesMinimal · Food

Filtered Black CoffeeMinimal · Food

Small Oily Fish (Sardines)Low · Food

Organic StrawberriesLow · Food

All 50 food entries, highest burden first →