Overview

• The provisional removal covers Paris, Lyon, Lille, Grenoble, Montpellier, Rennes, Bègles and Mouans-Sartoux, an area of about 3.5 million residents.
• City officials invoke the precautionary principle to protect children in school canteens from potential mercury exposure.
• NGOs Bloom and Foodwatch report mercury in all 148 canned‑tuna samples tested, with levels above 0.3 mg/kg in more than half.
• EU rules allow up to 1 mg/kg in fresh tuna, which the NGOs say equates to roughly 2.7 mg/kg in canned tuna because dehydration concentrates mercury.
• The canned‑food industry federation FIAC disputes the NGO protocol, says products comply with the law, and cites multi‑year controls showing average levels three times below the legal threshold.