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Study
Shows
Farmed Salmon is Cancer Risk
The results of a study in the journal ‘Science’ have shown higher levels of
cancer-causing chemicals in farmed salmon on sale in supermarkets compared
with salmon caught wild.
The study, which looked at 700 farmed and wild salmon from around the world,
concluded that the contamination levels in
farmed salmon on sale in Europe were so high that consumers should only eat
one portion every two months to avoid an increased risk of cancer.
The fish, sampled from wholesale and supermarket outlets, were contaminated
with a range of persistent chemicals, including PCBs, dioxins, dieldrin and
toxaphene. (Dioxins and PCBs are implicated in causing cancers, hormone
disruption, developmental and neurological problems. They accumulate in the
fatty tissues of animals and humans.)
The study went to advise that
"Farmed salmon fillets purchased from supermarkets in Frankfurt, Edinburgh,
Paris, London and Oslo were generally the most contaminated" and farmed salmon
on sale in Europe was found to be in the main more contaminated than salmon
farmed in North and
South America.
Environmental group Friends of
the Earth is calling for clearer labelling so that consumers can tell whether
the fish they are buying is wild or farmed, and where it has come from.
Friends of the Earth Chemicals Campaigner Mary Taylor said, "This study shows
yet again how the use of persistent chemicals contaminates our environment and
food sources, which can be magnified by intensive farming practices. Consumers
and retailers alike should be shocked by these findings. As the study says,
better labelling and consumer information would allow consumers to minimise the
risks, but we also need to ensure that new chemicals legislation properly
protects the environment from persistent chemicals in the long run."
The Food Standards Agency in
the UK however are advising that the benefits of eating oily fish once a week
outweigh any possible risks.
Aren’t they the same people
who also told the UK public in the late 80s that beef was safe to eat when BSE
(Mad Cow disease) first reared its ugly head? According
to their own figures 135 people have been diagnosed with the fatal vCJD (linked
to eating BSE infected cattle) up to June 2003.
Friends of
the Earth
Food Standards
Agency
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