But in the past 20 years, fish farming has boosted production by 40 times, mainly in northern Europe, North America and Chile. Salmon was once a rare and expensive delicacy. They are also investigating the possibility of introducing plant oils to feed the salmon. Webster points out that salmon farmers are already trying to minimise the levels of PCBs and dioxins by using less contaminated fish feeds. We advise that the known benefits of eating one portion of oily fish outweigh any possible risks.” The chairman of the UK Food Standards Agency, Sir John Krebs, agrees: “This study shows that the levels of dioxins and PCBs in salmon are within internationally recognised safety limits. “Consumers should be reassured by this research, despite its rather obvious attempt to stir anti-fish farming headlines,” says John Webster from Scottish Quality Salmon. However, the salmon farming industry takes the opposite view, insisting that the study shows its produce is safe because the contamination did not exceed US Food and Drug Administration safety limits. The scientists acknowledge that the risk/benefit analysis is complicated, but conclude: “Consumption of farmed Atlantic salmon may pose health risks that detract from the beneficial effects of fish consumption.” ![]() This because it contains omega-3 fatty acids known to reduce the risk of death from heart attack. People are currently encouraged to eat hundreds of grams of oily fish like salmon every month. “My hope is that public health agencies will look at our study and issue advice encouraging people to eat less contaminated fish.” Ensuring fish is labelled as farmed or wild allows consumers make a better choice, the scientists say. “I and my family do not eat farmed salmon,” says Jeffrey Foran, a toxicologist from the University of Michigan and one of the team.
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