Tuna Sales Fall on Mercury Worries - Industry Prepares Ad Campaign!

[hatrack]

FOR much of the last three decades, canned tuna fish has been America's favorite seafood and a trusted staple of children's lunches. Those days, however, are over. As awareness has increased about the high levels of mercury in some kinds of canned tuna fish, tuna has taken on an image problem. Some consumers are shunning the product in favor of other kinds of fish or are avoiding fish altogether. Now 21 percent of consumers say they are "extremely concerned" about mercury in fish, up from 17 percent two years ago, according to the NPD Group research firm.

As a result, industry sales are sagging. Since March 2004, when the federal government issued a new advisory about seafood consumption and mercury, sales of canned tuna in the United States swung from modest growth to a steady decline. Sales are down 10 percent in the last year, causing a revenue loss of $150 million for the $1.5 billion industry, according to ACNielsen.

The joint Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency advisory was the first time canned tuna fish was mentioned in such warnings. Previously, the agencies has warned only about mercury in swordfish, king mackerel, shark and tilefish.

Hoping to stem the decline and repair tuna's reputation, the industry is trying to arrange a government program to oversee an advertising campaign promoting the benefits of tuna. Called "Tuna - A Smart Catch," the ad campaign would not directly address the mercury issue, but instead would highlight the various health benefits of tuna fish. In one TV ad, moms proclaim that tuna has "way less fat than beef and pork," contains no carbs and is "good for us."

EDIT

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/business/19adco.html

Mmmmmm - Mercury!

[whistle]

1. Why not investigate mercury sources and polluters

[back2basics909]

3. The power lobby...

.. it's the power lobby. Until they no longer run the country, thats not going to happen.

Cap and trade just localizes the problem and we really have very few ways to clean it up anyway. It's a mess, and i personally beleive when all the research is in, this will account for the biggest public health disaster of all time.

[phantom power]

2. Hey it's all just a PR problem.

[Trillo]

4. Then retail prices should fall if we have a free market.

Demand is down 10%. Has anyone seen the retail price of TUNA decreasing? I haven't.

More evidence that our markets are "free" in name only?

[NNadir]

5. So will the Tuna companies form a lobby to ban coal?

I doubt it.

By the way, a lack of carbohydrates is not an indication of "healthy" food. The carbohydrate fad has to be one of the more dubious anti-science fads in an age of anti-science fads.