The USA California attorney general's office is suing five grocery-store chains for not including such a sign at their fish counters.
The grocery-store chains -Albertsons, Kroger's, Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods- failed to post warnings about mercury in tuna, swordfish and shark, according to the attorney general's office. Businesses are required to post notices about hazardous chemicals in items being sold to consumers.
According to health agencies swordfish, ahi tuna, albacore tuna and shark contain mercury, methylmercury and mercury compounds. Those substances are known to cause cancer and reproductive damage, the attorney general's office said. That means that stores selling those fish must post warnings. The lawsuit does not include canned tuna.
The five chains might be the tip of the iceberg. "Potentially, the case could involve additional stores," said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.
Those five were singled out because the state was notified that a private group was ready to file a lawsuit against them, Dresslar said. The attorney general's office investigated, tested fish from those stores and decided to bring its own lawsuit. Other grocery stores in California have not been investigated at this point, Dresslar said.
Pat St. John, a spokeswoman for Trader Joe's, said the company has not seen the complaint and could not comment. "We are more than interested and more than willing to comply with the law," she added.
Officials of Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said the chain provides information to customers about potential health issues involving mercury in fish. The officials said Whole Foods does not believe a warning is required, however, because the mercury is naturally occurring in deep-water ocean fish.
The company said it would cooperate with the attorney general's office to avoid litigation. A spokesman for Kroger's said the company was reviewing the lawsuit and had no comment.
The state's lawsuit asks for a prohibition on selling the listed fish until the stores post the warnings. It also seeks fines of up to $2,500 per day for each violation, dating back as far as 1988.
The action is not meant to discourage people from eating fish, the attorney general's office said, but to ensure that people make informed decisions about what they are eating.
"Consumers deserve to know when they are being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm," Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.