Letter to the Editor: Plastic in tuna

Dear Editor:

Dr. Frischer, in his column of April 25, extols the virtue of eating fish, however, he does warn of consuming large amounts of fresh tuna, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, halibut and other special as they can contain high volumes of mercury.

Another worrisome factor might be microscopic bits of plastic. Oceanic plankton, near the bottom of the food chain, contain tiny bits of plastic. As the plankton are consumed, the plastic moves up the food chain and ultimately is concentrated in the largest fish, such as swordfish and tuna.

Plastic is so ubiquitous in our oceans as it can be safely assumed that all tuna contain plastic. As a consequence of this, it can also be safely assumed that all of our bodies contain microscopic bits of plastic.

The level of research on this subject is such that it isn’t clear if the plastic has any deleterious effect upon us.

Dr. Frischer stated that he was fond of tuna salad sandwiches. I hope this doesn’t cause him to switch to peanut butter and jelly.

Jack Russell
Downey