Experts Debate Risks of Consuming Salmon
				
              The Exponent Online                
          
        

          

            
Wed, 4th February 2004

            By
            Tony Mance, Senior Writer            

            

            
            A recent study showed that farm-raised salmon contain a significantly higher amount of potentially hazardous pollutants than salmon caught in the wild. 

A Purdue nutritionist believes the recent findings may be misleading and that the benefits far outweigh the risks.            




"It was a good study, but the authors may have over interpreted the results," said Charles Santerre, associate professor of foods, nutrition and food science. 



The study, titled "Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon," stated that eating more than one meal of farm-raised salmon per month slightly increases the risk of contracting certain types of cancer later in life. 



"The organochlorines compounds are all known to be cancer promoters, not cancer initiators. This means the compounds don’t directly cause mutations. Rather, once a cancer is formed from other causes, they would be expected to increase risk of all kinds of cancer," said David Carpenter of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany and one of the leading researchers of the study. 



The organochlorines compounds make up many of the pollutants found in salmon. Carpenter points to the study’s findings that long-term exposure to these contaminants found in farm-raised salmon build up in the human body. Twenty to 30 years of exposure can lead to an increased risk of cancer and other complications. 



"Once a cancer is formed from other causes, the contaminants would be expected to increase the likelihood that that they will grow," Carpenter said. "When young people eat contaminated food they accumulate these carcinogens over the years." 



However, Santerre disagrees with the study’s conclusion that consumers should limit their intake of farmed salmon. He points to the fact that benefits of eating fish such as salmon far outweigh the cancer risk. He said limiting one’s intake can actually be detrimental to one’s health. 



"It’s like telling people not to wear seatbelts because some people have died while wearing them," he said. 



Santerre points to the fact that salmon contains a high amount of Omega-3 fatty acids as well as a small amount of toxic mercury, making salmon an important part of one’s diet. 



"The Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon are extremely important for developing fetuses as well as helping to prevent sudden pulmonary death in adults," he said. 



Santerre recommends that people, especially women in their child-bearing years, should eat 8 ounces of fish a week. 



"A big issue in Indiana is that people are not eating enough fish," said Santerre. 



He points to farm-raised and wild salmon, farmed rainbow trout and shrimp as the best fish to eat. 



As for the recent study, Santerre believes it is important for people to look at all points of the issue. 



"The difficulty for the public is that they don’t always understand that science can move in many different directions," he said. "Any one study is a piece of a puzzle; the authors of this study were looking at one piece. In the end we hope to have a full puzzle."