MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A local non profit wants tuna off the daily school lunch menu.
"The Mercury Policy Project" says it found high levels of mercury in some of the canned tuna it tested, and too much mercury can be dangerous.
Others argue the fish has health benefits kids need.
It's called brain food because of the health benefits fish has on our bodies, but the non-profit says too much tuna can be harmful because of the amount of mercury the fish can absorb.
"If your child is one of a hundred that's getting served tuna surprise or tuna casserole in school, it's Russian roulette," Michael Bender, Director of Mercury Policy Project said.
Bender says it's a game because out of the canned tuna that was tested in schools across eleven states, mercury levels were inconsistent.
"Just within one 66 ounce can, there was a 10-fold variation in the amount of mercury in each of the bites," he said.
The non-profit wouldn't tell me which schools were in the study, but did say that none of the schools tested in Vermont served tuna with mercury levels above the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines. The Mercury Policy Project recommends that children shouldn't eat tuna more than twice a month.
"Kids do get into, we call them food jags, where they'll eat the same food day in and day out," Fletcher Allen Healthcare Clinical Dietician Cathy McIsaac said.
But the Health Commissioner says the bigger issue here is that kids aren't getting enough seafood, and thinks tuna in moderation is healthy.
"I think fish is a wonderful source of protein," Commissioner Harry Chen said.
So parents, just be aware of how many times tuna's on the menu.
Shark and swordfish also have higher levels. Shrimp, salmon and sardines have lower levels.
