News Coverage
Farmed salmon industry to face lawsuit over contaminants in fish
Published January 22, 2004
The farmed salmon industry faces legal action in California for failing to warn consumers that the fish contain what environmental groups say are potentially dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals.
The Environmental Working Group and the Center for Environmental Health filed notice last week of their intent to sue 50 salmon farms, fish processors and grocery chains under a California anti-toxics law.
"We believe it's the responsibility of these companies to ensure that the fish they sell is not contaminated with toxic chemicals," said Michael Green, executive director for the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health. "Our goal is to challenge them to change their practices so their fish is safe to eat."
The legal action comes after a major study, published earlier this month in the journal Science, found that farm-raised salmon contains significantly more contaminants than salmon caught in the wild. The study blamed the high concentration of PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, on feed used on fish farms. It recommended that farmers change fish feed and urged consumers to buy wild salmon.
The farmed salmon industry disputes the study's conclusions, citing experts who say the benefits outweigh the risks of eating farmed salmon.
"(Consumers) will be doing themselves and their families a great disservice if they stop eating farmed salmon," said Alex Trent, executive director of the trade group Salmon of the Americas . He noted that farmed salmon, a source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is much cheaper than wild salmon and can be purchased year-round.
"(The environmental groups) are not just hurting the industry," Trent said. "They're hurting American consumers. They're literally scaring people to death."
Under Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, companies are required to notify consumers if their products contain hazardous levels of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
The law requires private groups to first file notice of their intent to sue to give the state attorney general and other prosecutors 60 days to decide whether to join or take over the lawsuit.
The two groups want the salmon farming industry to stop feeding practices that lead to high concentrations of PCBs - chemicals known to cause cancer, reproductive harm and nervous system damage.
"We want the farmed salmon industry to reform its practices and switch to nontoxic feed stocks, which would not contaminate farmed salmon," said Bill Walker, vice president of the Environmental Working Group. "If they don't want to change their practices, we think consumers should be informed" through warning labels.
The farmed salmon industry is constantly reforming its feed practices and has reduced PCB levels by 28 percent in the last two years, said Trent of Salmon of the Americas.
Defendants named in the legal action include major U.S. grocery chains such as Safeway Inc., Kroger Co., Albertsons Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. and farmed salmon producers in Canada and Europe such as Marine Harvest, Panfish and Stolt Sea Farm.
Costco of Issaqua, Wash., a major seller of farmed salmon, started a PCB monitoring program three years ago to ensure the safety of its fish, said Craig Wilson, the company's assistant vice president for food safety.
The company's own data conflicted with results from the Science study, showing that Costco farmed salmon contained PCB levels far below limits set by the Food and Drug Administration, Wilson said. He said the company cuts its salmon fillets to remove skin, liver and fatty tissues where PCBs accumulate.