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News Coverage

Caution on fishy figures

Categories

PCBs

The Daily Telegraph, Staff Writer
Published July 30, 2003

There have long been questions about fish farming. Now, there are some uncomfortable answers.

FARM-RAISED salmon contain higher than desirable levels of cancer-causing PCBs, according to a study by an environmental organisation to be released today.

The study, by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, found 10 samples of store-purchased, farm-raised salmon had five times more PCBs than salmon caught in the wild.

Based on those findings, the study's authors recommend that consumers limit their intake of farm-raised salmon to only one meal a month. However, the salmon industry had a ready response to the study: the levels of PCBs in salmon are within acceptable levels as defined by the US Food and Drug Administration.

"The FDA is a competent authority," said David Rideout, executive director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.

"The PCB levels that they found were well, well, well below the FDA standards. We believe we have a very safe and healthy product."

The study comes at a time when salmon consumption is soaring, more than doubling during the past decade.

Salmon is now the third most popular seafood eaten in the US, behind prawns and tuna, the institute said.

In its study, the Environmental Working Group said the PCBs in the fish reached a level that triggers a recommendation by the Environmental Protection Agency that salmon only be eaten once a month.

The EPA does not directly regulate the amount of PCBs found in salmon, but issues guidelines so that states can consider adopting them for their own use.

While acknowledging that the sample size was small, officials at the Environmental Working Group said they hoped to set off "alarm bells" that would prompt the Federal Government to take notice.

While the impact of the study is unclear, it does refocus attention on the unusual disparity between the EPA and the FDA in defining acceptable levels of PCBs -- a chemical mixture used as a coolant and lubricant and which was banned in the 1970s.

Exposure to PCBs may increase the risk of cancer and cause developmental problems in infants.

Under the FDA guidelines, commercial fish can contain up to two parts per million of PCBs. The EPA guidelines, which some state environmental agencies have adopted, caution against eating any fish with more than .097 parts per million of PCBs.

The Environmental Working Group's study found that the 10 salmon samples had an average level of PCBs of .027 parts per million -- five times more than the amounts found in wild salmon.

While that is within the amount the EPA finds acceptable, the EPA recommends eating salmon with that PCB level only once a month.

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