FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3, 2005
CONTACT: Jim Tobin
919-653-2582
Farm-raised Salmon Poses Increased Health Risks
for Consumers, Study Reports
Report in Environmental Health Perspectives recommends further curtailing
salmon consumption
[Research Triangle Park, NC] Consumption of farm-raised salmon poses greater
health risks from dioxin and dioxin-like compounds than does the consumption
of wild salmon, according to a study published in the May 2005 issue of the
peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Dioxins, pollutants
associated with numerous adverse health effects (most notably cancer but also
extending to suppression of the immune system, learning disabilities, increased
risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired prostate development, and endometriosis),
have been reported to be present at higher levels in farmed salmon, possibly
resulting from the levels of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) and other organic
contaminants in the feed.
Although the study authors acknowledge recommendations from the National Academy
of Sciences Institute of Medicine and the American Heart Associations that
frequent consumption of fish is beneficial, the authors suggest that the risk
of cancer and other health effects may outweigh the benefits that some types
of seafood offer. Women who become pregnant may be at increased risk due to
the effect of the toxicants on developing fetuses.
To reduce the risk associated with consumption of most farm-raised salmon based
on the WHO’s guidelines, the study recommends that consumers limit consumption
to less than 10 meals per month (based on one-half pound servings). For salmon
from northern European farms, meal frequencies should be less than four meals
per month. These consumption rates assume that exposure to DLCs is from farmed
salmon only and does not account for exposure from other food and environmental
sources. When analyzed using the EPA methods for dioxin risk assessment, the
study concluded that consumption of farmed Atlantic salmon must be even further
reduced.
Some limited food preparation practices might help to reduce the risk of consumption
of salmon, according to sources cited in the study. The authors write that, “…removal
of skin (and associated fat, lateral line, and belly flap) and some cooking
methods do, in some cases, reduce contaminant levels in the fish. However,
the amount of contaminant reduction is highly variable within species, among
species, and among contaminants.”
Despite education efforts, particularly around the Great Lakes, most consumers
remain unaware of these best practices. The authors "point to the urgent
need for methods that are consistent among national and international agencies
to develop consumption advice for contaminated fish".
The lead author of the study was Jeffery A. Foran of the Midwest Center for
Environmental Science and Public Policy, Milwaukee. Other authors included
David O. Carpenter, M. Coreen Hamilton, Barbara A. Knuth, and Steven J. Schwager.
The research was initiated and supported by the Environmental Division of the
Pew Charitable Trusts. The article is available free of charge at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2005/7626/7626.html.
EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EHP is an Open
Access journal. More information is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/.
Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing handles marketing and public
relations for the publication, and is responsible for creation and distribution
of this
press release.
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