Well, if you ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) they might say it is farmed Salmon. In fact, the EPA recommends that you not eat more than one meal of farmed salmon per month. If the farmed salmon originates from Scotland or the Faroe Islands then the maximum one should eat per month is one half of a serving. A serving being 6 ounces of farmed salmon. You read correctly that is in one month, 30 days! Shocking? These guidelines are to keep the American public from consuming too many cancer causing chemicals such as things like PCBs and dioxin.
You can assume that if your salmon label does not say Wild Alaskan salmon, your salmon is farmed. Atlantic salmon that is farmed contains the most amount of chemicals in their flesh compared to wild salmon, beef, pork, chicken and other seafoods. The heart benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon is offset in farmed salmon as the chemicals found in the flesh are so toxic to the body. The EPA guidelines are related just to cancer risk concerns, it is speculated that the other health effects related to the chemicals in farmed salmon such as reproductive problems, immune problems, thyroid problems and other endocrine problems might be a greater concern to the general public as these symptoms develop more quickly than cancer. The Environmental Working Group found in a study of store bought farmed salmon from Washington DC, San Francisco and Portland found enough PCBs in the fish to actually raise the consumer's cancer risk. The farmed Atlantic salmon had 16 times the amount of PCBs than was found in wild salmon. PCBs were found to be so toxic that their use was banned in the US in 1976 and has been slated to be phased out all over the world. PCBs and other chemicals get into the salmon through the feed they are fed.
When you go to a restaurant and order salmon off the menu, make sure it says wild salmon. If the menu does not say, it is farmed. Farming salmon makes it much more affordable as wild salmon prices about as much as a high end cut of beef. When trying to make healthy dinner choices for your family, choose land animals or wild salmon. Your family will thank you for it later.
If you want to know how much tuna you should eat a week, check our the tuna calculator....it really makes you reevaluate what to order off the sushi menu.
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More than a comment is a question. You did not address "organic farmed salmon". Would that make a difference? One would hope so!
Posted by: maria | December 14, 2009 at 02:22 PM