An Update on the Content of Fatty Acids, Dioxins, PCBs and Heavy Metals in Farmed, Escaped and Wild Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) in Norway.

Ida-Johanne Jensen,Edel Oddny Elvevoll,Karl-Erik Eilertsen,Hanne K Mæhre,Carina Helen Almli Otnæs

doi:10.3390/foods9121901

Ida-Johanne Jensen, Edel Oddny Elvevoll + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121901

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Abstract

In this paper, we present updated data on proximate composition, amino acid, and fatty acid composition, as well as concentrations of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and selected heavy metals, in fillets from farmed (n = 20), escaped (n = 17), and wild (n = 23) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The concentrations of dioxins (0.53 ± 0.12 pg toxic equivalents (TEQ)/g), dioxin-like PCBs (0.95 ± 0.48 pg TEQ/g), mercury (56.3 ± 12.9 µg/kg) and arsenic (2.56 ± 0.87 mg/kg) were three times higher in wild compared to farmed salmon, but all well below EU-uniform maximum levels for contaminants in food. The six ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) PCBs concentrations (5.09 ± 0.83 ng/g) in wild salmon were higher than in the farmed fish (3.34 ± 0.46 ng/g). The protein content was slightly higher in wild salmon (16%) compared to the farmed fish (15%), and the amount of essential amino acids were similar. The fat content of farmed salmon (18%) was three times that of the wild fish, and the proportion of marine long-chain omega-3 fatty acids was a substantially lower (8.9 vs. 24.1%). The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio was higher in farmed than wild salmon (0.7 vs. 0.05). Both farmed and wild Atlantic salmon are still valuable sources of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. One 150 g portion per week will contribute to more (2.1 g and 1.8 g) than the recommended weekly intake for adults.

Highlights

The United Nations declaration “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment”, with the seventeen sustainable Development Goals (SDG), emphasizes the need to achieve food safety, food security and enhanced nutrition for everybody in a sustainable manner.As land-based resources are scarce, and food production is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG)emitters, one strategy would be shifting human diets from high carbon and GHG land-based sources of protein to low-carbon-based sources [1,2]
The analyses subsequently revealed that 17 of the wild fish were escapees, and data on these fish were removed from the wild salmon group and analyzed as a separate study group
The water content followed the fat content inversely being highest in wild salmon (70%) compared to farmed salmon (61%) and escaped salmon (67%)

Summary

Introduction

The United Nations declaration “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment”, with the seventeen sustainable Development Goals (SDG), emphasizes the need to achieve food safety, food security and enhanced nutrition for everybody in a sustainable manner.As land-based resources are scarce, and food production is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG)emitters, one strategy would be shifting human diets from high carbon and GHG land-based sources (red meat) of protein to low-carbon-based sources [1,2]. As land-based resources are scarce, and food production is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG). Fish and seafood consumption has traditionally been recognized to lower the risk of cardiometabolic diseases [3,4]. This notion is primarily based on epidemiological evidence and meta-analyses [5] and. Foods 2020, 9, 1901 with evidence from preclinical and clinical studies on the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid; 20:5n-3) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid; 22:6n-3) and lipid-soluble components present in seafood [6,7]. Even though recent clinical studies have shown variable results on cardiovascular disease risks [8], marine long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are still regarded as cardioprotective

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