Addressing Concerns Regarding Cesium-134 in Pacific Bluefin Tuna

National news outlets are reporting that Pacific bluefin tuna caught in waters off the coast of San Diego, California, contain tiny amounts of radioactive Cesium-134. The concern is because radioactive Cesium-134 does not occur in nature, but is only produced in nuclear power stations and other facilities that process nuclear materials. It is believed that the Cesium-134 found in the Pacific bluefin tuna was released into the Pacific Ocean over a year ago when the 9.0-plus magnitude earthquake and resultant tsunami severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility on the east coast of Japan. The levels of Cesium-134 detected in the California tuna are thus far very minute. The level detected is about four percent of the Japanese limit that is declared safe for seafood to be consumed in Japan.

The Pacific bluefin tuna is a predatory fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean. Because the Pacific bluefin tuna is at the top of the ocean food chain it will concentrate in its tissues any contaminant found in its environment. The Pacific bluefin tuna has been of concern in the past because of its apparent propensity to concentrate mercury. The Pacific bluefin tuna is migratory in nature. It spawns in waters off the east coast of Japan, migrates to that part of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, and then returns several years later to its spawning grounds off the coast of Japan.

None of Thorne Research's fish oils come from any species of tuna. Thorne Research can reconfirm this statement because we have re-reviewed all of our specifications for our fish oil raw materials, and we have re-reviewed all of the Certificates of Analysis from our fish oil suppliers, and the results of our additional review conclusively confirms that none of our fish oils are derived from any species of tuna. Instead, Thorne Research can conclusively confirm that our fish oils are derived from anchovies, sardines, and/or mackerel that are harvested from waters off the coast of South America. Furthermore, these fish species – anchovies, sardines, and mackerel – are not migratory over long distances and tend to stay in the coastal waters where they are harvested.

In addition, the fish gelatin used to make our softgels is derived from tilapia, which is not an ocean fish; instead, tilapia is typically farm-raised in fresh water.