Did Jeremy Piven eat 200 lbs of ketchup a day? According to a new study, which found trace amounts of mercury in a number of high-fructose-corn-syrup laden foods like Coke, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars and ketchup, maybe so.

The study tested 55 different foods and found mercury in about a third, and said the mercury came from the soda used to make the HFCS.

The amount found was in the range of 30 to 350 parts per trillion, the equivalent of 30 to 350 drops of water in 20 Olympic swimming pools. “You would have to eat more than 100 pounds of ketchup each day to even come close to reaching the EPA’s safe exposure level,” Con-Agra told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Still, this is the first time mercury has been found in these foods, many of which are popular among children. Clearly, more research is warranted, but if it gets Piven off Broadway, I’m all for it.

For first time, trace amount of mercury found in corn syrup [Star Tribune] (Photo: christopherharte)