NY man who ate 10 cans of tuna weekly sues Bumble Bee Tuna, Stop & Shop over mercury poisoning

Renew Deal

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:03 AM
Original message

NY man who ate 10 cans of tuna weekly sues Bumble Bee Tuna, Stop & Shop over mercury poisoning

White Plains, N.Y. � A suburban New York City man has filed a lawsuit that claims he got mercury poisoning from eating 10 cans of tuna a week.

Lee Porrazzo, of White Plains, filed the suit against Bumble Bee Foods. He�s asking for unspecified damages for breach of warranty and negligence. He also sued his local Stop & Shop supermarket for selling the tuna.

Porrazzo said he started eating the tuna in January 2006 because the seafood company called it �heart healthy.� The lawsuit says tests revealed he had a mercury level twice the normal amount.

A Bumble Bee spokesman told the New York Post it wasn�t aware of mercury toxicity from eating commercial seafood in the United States.
<snip>

http://www.penfieldpost.com/latestnews/x549837180/NY-man-sues-seafood-company-over-tuna

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hobbit709

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:06 AM
Response to Original message

1. 10 cans a week for over 4 years.

Just the thought of eating that much tuna would make want to gag. I like tuna but that much and that often?

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HopeHoops

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:11 AM
Response to Original message

2. Sounds kinda fishy to me.

:evilgrin:

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Maine-ah

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:12 AM
Response to Original message

3. you would think that the spokesman would

know that tuna contains higher levels of mercury than most seafood. Doesn't matter if it's commercial or not.

idiots all the way around here.

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slackmaster

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:14 AM
Response to Original message

4. Is a blood mercury level of "twice the normal amount" considered medically dangerous?

Edited on Tue Oct-19-10 09:16 AM by slackmaster

"Generally recognized guidelines for blood levels of mercury have not been established. "

http://cfpub.epa.gov/eroe/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail.viewInd&lv=list.listByAlpha&r=188247&subtop=208

From QuackWatch:

Blood Testing

Mercury is excreted by the kidneys, which filter the blood. The mercury levels of blood are lower than those of urine and therefore more difficult to detect. For this reason, blood testing for mercury is not commonly done. Even at high levels of mercury exposure, industrial workers show blood concentrations in the parts-per-billion range, typically less than 5 parts per billion. These are close to the limits of detection. In this range, the amounts are too small to identify the type of mercury or its source. Urine mercury testing gives a more meaningful picture of exposure and is also more accurate because the mercury is more concentrated.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/mercurytests.html

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NoPasaran

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:28 AM
Response to Original message

5. His attorney advised against also seeking damages for "tuna breath"

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Lance_Boyle

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:31 AM
Response to Original message

6. Has there been an actual diagnosis of mercury poisoning?

This smells fishy - like someone who read a story about mercury levels in seafood and saw dollar signs. Hope he gets paid in albacore if he wins his junk lawsuit.

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TwilightGardener

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:38 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. He would have to prove some sort of injury related to the mercury

level that he could not have gotten from another source--a lab result isn't enough, I would think. I think he intentionally ate the tuna, bided his time, launched a suit. Probably saved his grocery store receipts, too.

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Renew Deal

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #6

9. Pregnant women are told to stay away from tuna, swordfish

and any other big water fish because of mercury. So the stories are out there.

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PVnRT

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:49 AM
Response to Reply #9

10. That's because the fetus is very sensitive to low doses

A dose of mercury that would have no effect on an adult can have an enormous effect on the brain development of a fetus. That's also why pregnant women are warned against even handling certain types of medication.

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gristy

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:33 AM
Response to Original message

7. "Twice the normal amount"! Yeah, that's going to sway a court.

Not. This guy may want to think twice about this effort.

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RaleighNCDUer

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Tue Oct-19-10 09:58 AM
Response to Original message

11. I thought it was pretty much common knowledge that you have to keep

big fish eating to under 12oz a week - tuna, salmon, mackerel, swordfish - whatever.

It's what the government recommends for pregnant women, to avoid risk to the fetus.

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Lance_Boyle

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Tue Oct-19-10 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #11

12. No harm to adults - we need not follow guidelines for fetal health if not pregnant. n/t

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RaleighNCDUer

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Tue Oct-19-10 10:52 AM
Response to Reply #12

13. Don't believe it. if it is harmful to a fetus, it is harmful (though considerably

less so) to an adult. We are the same biological entities.

That's why I keep it at no more than 3 cans of tuna a week, or 1 can of mackerel (salmon is way too expensive for my larder).

With both my parents having Alzheimers, I'm not taking any chances with poorly understood chemical and heavy metal contamination.

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