Farmed Salmon: Caught in a Numbers Game

FEBRUARY 2004 • VOL. 58, NO. 2 weight/day. In the Science study, the TDI for farmed salmon ranged from 0.48 to 2.7 pg TEQ/60 kg body weight/day, which is within the recommended range. So unavoidable contaminants in all salmon—farmed and wild—are within the established guidelines of FDA, EPA, and WHO. They are safe, and they are healthful. Overlooked or ignored in the Science study is the fact that the farmed salmon most often consumed in the U.S. is from Chile (56%) and Canada (31%). Contaminants in fish studied from North and South America were significantly lower than in salmon from Europe, which supplies only 7% of U.S. farmed salmon. And still, most scientists—other than those who authored the Science study, presumably— would agree that farmed salmon from Europe is equally safe as fish from other locations. Finally, here are the health benefits from eating salmon, farmed and wild: Salmon contains 25% protein. A 3.5-oz portion provides 90% of the Daily Value of vitamin D. Salmon provides the antioxidant carotenoid astaxanthin and the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6). These long-chain fatty acids are important for brain and retinal development early in life. They also protect the heart by preventing arrhythmia, decreasing platelet aggregation, decreasing plasma triacylglycerol concentration, decreasing blood pressure, reducing atherosclerosis, increasing slightly HDL cholesterol, modulating endothelial function, and decreasing pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. An 8-oz (227-g) serving provides five times the effective Adequate Intake (0.14 and 0.13 g/day, respectively) of C20:5 and C22:6 for pregnant or lactating women. The American Heart Association recommends that healthy individuals consume two 2to 3-oz servings of fatty fish/week and that persons diagnosed with cardiovascular disease consume 1 g of C20:5 and C22:6/day. AHA reports that 250,000 deaths occur each year due to sudden cardiac death. Increasing salmon intake to improve health and reduce sudden cardiac death mortalities far outweighs the appreciably lower risks posed by environmental pollutants. With such a low risk from consuming farmed salmon, it is prudent that all individuals, including pregnant and nursing women, consume salmon or other low-contaminant fish frequently, at a rate of 8 oz/week. ●