FARMED FISH POISON FEAR - Dangerous chemicals in salmon

Scottish Daily Mail, Sean Poulter
Published August 8, 2003

SCOTTISH salmon was at the centre of a new food safety scare last night. Scientists claimed to have found high levels of cancer-causing industrial pollutants called PCBs in the flesh of farmed fish. They said consumers should not eat more than six portions per year. But the findings were challenged by the Scottish firm that farmed the tested salmon. Shetland-based Mainstream (Scotland) insisted the research was flawed. The damaging claims were made by an American environmental lobby group and tally with findings previously published by British university researchers. The U.S.-based Environmental Working Group (EWG) examined ten salmon samples from around the world, including one supplied by Mainstream, to test for PCB levels. The Scottish fish had far more PCBs. at 67.8 parts per billion, than those from Iceland, Canada and the US. But Mainstream, which also trades as Aquascot, said the way the EWG carried out the research exaggerated the PCB level. Spokesman Dennis Overton said: ŒWe believe this research is flawed. A number of studies show that PCB levels in salmon have actually come down in recent years. The reality is that eating two portions of oily fish a week, such as salmon, offers far more health benefits than any risk from PCBs. Mainstream provides own-label salmon for Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. A Marks & Spencer spokesman said: “We would have to examine this report before making any comment, but Marks & Spencer has very stringent quality controls on all of our products.” A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: Obviously we take food safety very seriously and will investigate this, but we routinely check the safety and integrity of our products.‚ The EWG based its advice on guidelines set by the U.S. governúment‚s Environment Protection Agency, which details maximum limits for PCB contamination in wild salmon. These limits are more strict than others set by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the EU. The claims could have a hugely damaging effect on the lucrative U.S. export market for Scottish Farmed salmon. Sales in Scotland and the rest of the UK may also be affected. The EWG said the single Scottish sample should not be taken to represent an entire industry, although its findings echo studies published by the University of Surrey in 1999 and others in Europe and Canada. But the American lobby group said it was offering advice to consumers rather than advocating boycotts. The PCB contamination comes from oil-laden feed used on salmon farms across Scotland. This is effectively created from huge quantities of small sea life that are harvested from the sea. The problem arises because this sea life has been exposed for many years to industrial pollution containing PCBs. Mr Overton said the industry was concerned about PCB levels and was trying to reduce them by using material from cleaner seas and plant oils. He added that other fatty foods, such as dairy products and meat, created a similar exposure to PCBs. Other fish, including cod, were also contaminated. PCBs are among the most toxic pollutants in existence and can attack the nervous system, causing learning difficulties in children and suppressing the immune system. A recent study by the FSA found one in 100 adults is consuming more than the recommended daily limit of PCBs. The proportion rises alarmingly for children. The figure is put at 10 per cent of schoolchildren and 37 per cent of toddlers. The Scottish salmon farming industry has an annual turnover of £700 million and provides 6,500 jobs. Backbone of a community

• Salmon farming is the single most important economic development in the Highlands and Islands of the past 30 years.
• It supports employment for 6,500 people, with 70 per cent of these living in remote areas on the West Coast.
• An estimated 300 salmon farms produce 98 per cent of the salmon consumed in the UK.
• The industry injects about £1 million a week into rural Scottish economies in pay packets alone.
• The wholesale value of salmon produced in 1998 totalled £26Omillion, more than Highland beef and lamb together.
• The retail value of Scottish farmed salmon is estimated to be between £500million and £700million.
• By 2010 the world will need an extra 3Omillion tonnes of fish.
• It is claimed escapes of farmed salmon have made it difficult for the wild population to survive because farmed fish pass on parasites.
• Fatty fish such as salmon tend to store more pollutants in their tissue than lean‚ white fish such as cod or haddock.