Dolphin DNA found in Mexican tuna cans

A sampling study of 15 cans of tuna on sale in Mexico has found that three contained traces of dolphin meat.

The study by food engineering Karla Vanessa Hernández Herbert of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) used DNA probes to identify adulteration with dolphin in unidentified commercial brands of tuna available on the market.

While there’s no health risk, the “fraudulent addition of substances that are not authentic and the deception of the consumer are unacceptable,” she said in a statement. Dolphins are a recognised by-catch of some tuna fishing methods.

In 2018, Mexico lost a long-running dispute with the US, mediated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which centred on the use of “dolphin-safe” on tuna product labels.

Mexico said it was being discriminated after the US refused to grant a dolphin-safe label to Mexican, saying it had reduced by-catch to a minimum and that tuna caught in other regions was not held to the same standards, but the WTO rejected its complaint.

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