New York – A Westchester man’s tuna pig-out could help Bumble Bee Foods get off the hook over claims it gave him mercury poisoning.
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The seafood-processing company charges in court papers that Lee Porrazzo of White Plains “abnormally overconsumed” its canned catch.
Bumble Bee notes that Porrazzo’s suit “alleges that he consumed approximately 538 pounds of canned tuna or approximately 1,434 6-ounce cans of tuna within 33 months.”
“Consuming this inordinate amount of tuna constitutes . . . overconsumption and would be deemed an unanticipated overuse of the product,” the White Plains federal court filing says.
Bumble Bee also says Porrazzo should have known that all fish contain “trace amounts of mercury” and that “mercury is inherent to canned tuna.”
“Defendants did not put [it] in, and defendants can not take it out,” the court papers say.
Porrazzo claims that he ate tuna nearly every day, thinking it was “the cleanest source of protein.”
so the real question is : how sick did he get and what was his mercury level?
He ate one and half cans of tuna a day on average. That isn’t anticipated usage? It certainly isn’t a pig-out. It is an all-tuna diet.
For comparison, over a three year period (36 months) according to the FDA the average american consumes 4,500 pounds of food, so this person made tuna 12% of their diet (by pound).
I agree that people are responsible for knowing these kinds of things on their own, but really this article is just a blame-the-victim piece using a usage number of nearly three years to make it sound exaggerated.
In other words agreeing with their “should have known” argument, but not their “anticipated usage” one.
Why is there something wrong with this fellow eating 1/2 lb. of tuna as a daily staple protein? I would not expect this person to be considered a “shlob.” He probably couldn’t afford to feast on steaks, tried to eat healthy and was unaware of the risk. It’s less than a can and a half a day. If he heavily relied on this inexpensive source of protein, this did not constitute overeating.
This 1434 in 33 months works out to less than 1.5 cans a day. While it may be more that the average consumer, how is that an “inordinate amount”?
That means he ate an average of 1 1/2 cans of tuna a day every day for 33 months. He’s fortunate that they downsized the can ftom 7oz or he’d have even more mercury. I also like tuna, but 538 pouns is a little too much.
Has he gotten tired of tuna yet?
Another question, perhaps for all people is why didnt this man have a doctor? No person should go a year without seeing a physician. An unusual diet like that should have been a topic of discussion with his physician. I am guessing this poor guy never saw a doctor in 3 years. There are too many people who refuse to go to a doctor unless they are sick. This is poverty.
he needs a tune up after eating all that tuna
1.5 cans a day would be considered childs play in Japan and other pacific rim countries so i don’t understand Bumble bees problem
This story is missing too many details. What else did he eat that may have contained mercury? How much mercury would be considered poisoning? How much does the typical can have? etc. etc.
Story sounds exciting without the facts, but what is the rest of the story?
Baloney. I’ve been eating tuna for 40 years, sometimes twice per day and I have no problem with mercury poisoning. Sounds like a frivolous lawsuit to me.
I know someone who went on a “tuna diet” eating about 2 cans a day and was found to have a high mercury level. Anybody who eats tuna every day should get their level checked. You might just be surprised how high it can get.
Just another loser liberal looking for a quick pay off. Make him pay Bumble Bee’s legal fees.
He should have switched to chunk light. Much less mercury.
‘Porrazzo claims that he ate tuna nearly every day, thinking it was “the cleanest source of protein.”‘ This proves he’s a liar. Where did he get the idea that tuna is a clean source of protein? That same source would have told him not to each so much tuna!