March 1, 2019.
For several years, the media and social networks have warned of the supposed dangers of salmon for consumers, and more particularly of Norwegian farmed salmon.
Should we continue to eat salmon? The debate on the issue is very similar to the procrastination around wine consumption.
Salmon fix heavy metals and dioxins in their flesh
When a study affirms that certain organic compounds present in the wine protect against such or such disease, another comes to say the opposite immediately after, and denounces the dangers from the first glass. For the salmon, when a study recommends the regular consumption of fatty fish, rich in Omega 3, another warning on the over-concentration of heavy metals that we detect by analyzing their flesh.
The resemblance does not end there: social networks regularly highlight this or that article on these subjects, and show it off. This is the case, for example, at the start of 2019 for Norwegian farmed salmon.
What should we learn from all this, given the current state of scientific knowledge? There is no doubt that the regular consumption of salmon, an oily fish, complies with nutritional recommendations, and in particular those of the National Health Nutrition Plan. But we also know thatsalmon, like other fish in its family, stores certain toxic products particularly well in its fats., including heavy metals, or dioxin. And Norwegian salmon would be particularly affected.
The measurements taken on the fish caught obviously confirm that they are fit for human consumption., because always below the pollutant concentration thresholds. But the whole problem is obviously the accumulation, as the consumption progresses, of these pollutants in the human organism. But also the cocktail effect, rarely or poorly evaluated.
The risk: accumulation, and the cocktail effect
Result, the origin of the fish consumed is certainly not a factor to be neglected. It is probably no coincidence that Norwegian farmed salmon is also often the cheapest, by far!
Norway has been practicing intensive salmon farming in its fjords for several decades. Fish fed for some with animal meal, stuffed with antibiotics to accelerate their growth. Thanks to this intensive production, Norway alone produces almost two-thirds of the salmon consumed in the world., and thus achieves tens of billions of euros in turnover, making this resource the second in the country behind the sale of hydrocarbons.
Now, if you do not know the origin of the salmon that you are offered to consume, in restaurants, or in collective catering, is it necessary to turn away from it by default? You decide, with the elements currently at your disposal on the question.
Read also How to choose salmon?
