Nutrition Misinformation Leads to Confusion About Omega-3 Content in Salmon

Omega-3 fatty acids and their role in preventing heart disease are in the spotlight again after yet another study suggests dramatic results in men and women. This spotlight shines more brightly on salmon than any other food item because among fish, which are the primary contributors of Omega-3 to the diet, salmon has the combination of being readily available, economical and among the best source of Omega-3 around.

Farmed Atalntic Salmon - the highest Omega-3 content of any species

But some information that consumers get fogs up the picture by leading them to believe they need to seek out special salmon to get those benefits. According to the USDA nutrient database, the most widely recognized source for nutrition information, farmed Atlantic salmon has the highest Omega-3 content of any salmon species—the best of the best you could say. Wild salmon also contain Omega-3 - and how much each serving contains depends on the species.

This is important for consumers because the health benefits of Omega-3 are dependent on the amount consumed. You get a full two grams of Omega-3 in each serving of farm-raised Atlantic salmon - which is about twice the amount you'd get from a serving of canned white tuna or wild Pacific salmon.

But the information doesn't seem to have reached many who advise consumers about this important topic. Marian Burros, the noted food writer for the New York Times, recently wrote that "farmed salmon is low in Omega-3 fats" and listed her source as the same USDA database that says quite the opposite and is readily available online.

Other stories have misquoted Dr. Frank Hu, who led the recent Harvard study on the role of Omega-3 and CHD, as saying that farmed salmon were deficient in Omega-3 and so the benefits would not accrue to it. "I can categorically say that these quotes are not mine," says Hu. "My understanding of the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in farm-raised salmon is from the USDA nutrient database. Thus, I have no reason to believe that Omega-3 acids are lower in farm-raised salmon based on the USDA data," Hu says.

So what happened? "A piece of information or a quote was generated from thin air and it took on the aura of a fact as it was picked-up over and over, not from the original source, but from the erroneous version without checking," says David Rideout, Executive Director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, and Chair of the SOTA Steering Committee. "Why or how it was done in the first place is a matter we can only speculate on," says Rideout. He adds, "We know some people have an anti farmed-salmon mentality—actually an anti farmed-fish mentality is more appropriate—that they will follow at any expense. We suspect that is the case here."

Unfortunately the consumer is the victim here as this will only confuse them about the indisputable benefits of farmed salmon, a product that can literally help save their lives.
  Source: Salmon of the Americas

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The food and drug administration recently required retailers to label farmed salmon as artificially colored. This led consumers to the misconception that dye was being added to the flesh of farm-raised salmon.

In the wild, salmon get their color naturally when they eat other marine organisms, such as krill, which contain orange-colored substances called carotenoids - specifically astaxanthin (as-tax-an-thin) and canthaxanthin (can-thax-an-thin). Carotenoids are a group of pigments present throughout the animal and plant kingdoms.

Flamingos, for example, also get their pink coloration from their diet which is high in alpha and beta-carotene.

Farm-raised salmon eat these same carotenoids which are included in their feed. The carotenoids are manufactured using the same process used to produce vitamin supplements for humans. The astaxanthin and casthazanthin produced in this way are identical in chemical composition to their naturally occurring counterparts.

Scientists Say Latest PCB Study of Farmed Salmon Misleads Consumers

PRINCETON, NJ, July 30, 2003—The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just issued a report which finds that farmed salmon they tested for PCBs are well within the FDA guidelines. It finds, as other independent studies have previously found, that levels are 40 to 200 times below the FDA tolerance level. The FDA is the regulatory agency charged with food safety standards in the U.S. Many independent scientists and food safety experts question the methods used by the EWG to assemble the data and analyze the facts presented in this report.

The report charges that the FDA tolerances should be replaced by guidelines from the EPA. However, the EPA confirms that their guidelines are designed for sport and subsistence fishermen who may eat fish from contaminated waters as a steady diet and not meant for fish sold commercially.

Since the EWG report was released this week, several news agencies have covered the story. As quoted in The Chicago Tribune, July 30, 2003:

FDA officials said that they began a review of their standards for dioxins and dioxin-like substances, such as PCBs, in 2000, including an examination of farm-grown and wild salmon. But they defended the FDA's current standard, which has been in place since 1984.

"Part of our equation is looking at the overall picture, the positives in nutrition versus the trace levels of PCBs that may be remaining in our environment," said Terry Troxell, director of the FDA's office of plant and dairy foods and beverages. He noted that the level of PCBs in foods had dropped about 90 percent since the 1970s.

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Fish Consumption Limits—EPA indicated in the Mercury Study Report to Congress (U.S. EPA, 1997) that the typical U.S. consumer was not in danger of consuming harmful levels of methylmercury from fish and was not advised to limit fish consumption on the basis of mercury content. This advice is appropriate for typical consumers who eat an average of less than 10 grams of fish and shellfish per day with mercury concentrations averaging between 0.1 and 0.15 ppm.

The levels of mercury in farm raised salmon was not found to be any different from salmon found in the wild.

Compare salmon to other fish species:

	Highest Mercury levels Fish Species Mercury Level Omega-3 Levels Amberjack High Low Chilean Sea Bass High Good Grouper High Low Halibut High Low Shark High Good Swordfish High Good Tuna High Best

	Moderate Mercury Fish Species Mercury Level Omega-3 Levels Flounder Med Good Mahi Mahi Med Low Red Snapper Med Low Trout Med Best

	Safest Fish Species Mercury Level Omega-3 Levels Catfish Low Low Clams Low Low Orange Roughy Low Low Oysters Low Good Salmon Low Best Sardines Low Best Shrimp Low Low Tilapia Low Low

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PCB's Continued..

Troxell said his office would consider the Environmental Working Group's findings, but he added that the FDA is urging consumers to continue eating salmon and other fish because of the health benefits.

Another reputable newspaper, The Oregonian, Portland, OR, July 30, 2003 took issue with the study's warning to consumers:

The benefits of eating fish rich in fatty acids are more clearly proven than the risk of PCB exposure, said Robert Lawrence, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. Omega-3 fatty acids protect against heart disease, reduce hypertension and ease joint pain and arthritis.

Lawrence led a National Academy of Sciences panel on the health implications of PCBs and similar compounds that issued a report in June. The panel decided against changing the current federal recommendation to consume two servings of fish a week.

" We are pleased that again analysis by a non-industry organization has shown that farmed salmon found in stores in the United States is consistently and significantly below the food safety standards set up by the FDA with regard to contaminants, including PCBs," says Alex Trent, executive director of Salmon of The Americas (SOTA). SOTA is an organization of salmon producers from Canada, Chile and the United States.

So, is farmed salmon safe to eat? "Absolutely," says Trent. "This has been clearly demonstrated in ongoing monitoring programs by the industry, and by various environmental groups, including the EWG. All this monitoring shows the level of PCBs is 40 to 200 times lower than the FDA tolerance level which has built-in margins of safety already," he adds.

  Source Salmon of the Americas

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