Why You Should Never Eat Farm-Raised Salmon

Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is widely considered a healthy food. Our animal-based dietary framework consists primarily of pasture-raised raised beef, but we do eat wild salmon from time to time.

However, we would never eat farmed salmon, which is contaminated with toxic chemicals including ethoxyquin (EQ), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA).

What Are EQ, BHT and BHA?

Ethoxyquin is a synthetic antioxidant that is used to prevent the oils in fish food from becoming rancid. Originally developed as a pesticide, several studies (see here and here) have raised concerns about the chemical’s potential to accumulate in the fatty tissues of farmed fish. Other studies suggest that when consumed in large amounts, ethoxyquin can have negative effects on liver and kidney health.

Here’s what’s shocking: while the European Union has outlawed the use of ethoxyquin as a pesticide and established strict limits for ethoxyquin contamination in vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meat, there are currently no limits for the amount of ethoxyquin in fish.

BHT and BHA are also synthetic antioxidants used to prevent oxidation in animal feed and fishmeal. As with ethoxyquin, the chemicals persist in the fatty tissues of farmed fish, and research has suggested that both can act as endocrine disruptors, interfering with hormone regulation.

Both the United States and the European Union allow the use of small amounts of BHT and BHA as a food additive, even though several studies have concluded that there is sufficient evidence of their carcinogenicity in animals.

The Problem With Synthetic Antioxidants

When you eat farmed salmon, you’re also eating whatever amounts of EQ, BHT and BHA are still in the fish. And while various regulatory entities have established levels for the “acceptable daily intake” of these chemicals, there are no long-term studies available that have determined the effects of these chemicals on the human body.

In fact, when the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed ethoxyquin in 2015, it determined that there isn’t enough data to assess the safety of the chemical as a feed additive, with regard to either fish consumers (i.e., humans) or the environment.

However, the EFSA did indicate that one of ethoxyqui’s metabolites (ethoxyquin quinone imine), as well as an impurity that results from the ethoxyquin manufacturing process (p-phenetidine) may both be genotoxic — meaning that they can damage your DNA.

In other words, the so-called “safe” consumption levels of these chemicals are estimates based on our current understanding of each chemicals’ potential impact on human health, and are issued even though researchers suspect they can damage human genes.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not inclined to chance it.

What the Norwegian Fish Industry Has to Say…

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that the Norwegian National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) claims that the levels of ethoxyquin in fish feed are safe for humans. After all, Norway’s salmon industry is worth more than $11 billion per year.

But the fact of the matter is that we don’t know if that is true, due to the lack of long-term studies. What I do know is that I prefer to err on the side of caution and not eat chemicals that have been forbidden to be used as pesticides, or which are reasonably suspected to cause cancer or DNA damage.

The Type Of Salmon We Eat

I like salmon and used to eat it regularly. Back then, we usually bought the Kirkland brand from Costco. After I learned about the use of these toxic chemicals in fish feed, I reached out to Costco for clarification about their sourcing.

In the first response from their corporate communications center, they referred me to their (now-deleted) Sustainable Fisheries page. That page referenced an initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD).

SAD is a voluntary standard for responsible salmon aquaculture, and the page stated that Costo’s goal was to only work with suppliers that adhered to that standard.

The problem is that SAD does not cover the use of synthetic antioxidants in fish feed. So I reached out to Costco again to ask for clarification. I also reached out to Whole Foods, Kroger, and Publix, with the following results:

“Unfortunately, we are not able to provide a response to your question at this time.”

Costco

“None of our suppliers use ethoxyquin or butylated hydroxytoluene in their processes. However, they require ethoxyquin to be added to the fish meal to prevent it from exploding during sea transport and storage. The EU has set a combined upper limit for ethoxyquin and other antioxidants (BHA and BHT) of 150 mg per kg of feed. Data obtained from fish-feed and feed-ingredient monitoring programs have not revealed any instances of this limit being exceeded in salmon feed.”

Publix

Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart did not respond.

Only Publix was willing to share any meaningful information about the use of synthetic antioxidants in its fish feed. But even they admitted that the chemicals discussed in this article could be present in their salmon. What’s more concerning is that they had no idea how much of each chemical could be present — just that their products fall within so-called “safe limits” for human consumption (which, once again, are not based on any actual research or evidence).

Final Thoughts

As with the factory farming of livestock, the goal of the fish industry is to grow and sell their product as quickly as possible. And they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen, including adding pharmaceuticals (such as antibiotics) and other toxic substances to fish feed.

These days, food manufacturers appropriately label most meat and poultry, allowing consumers to make educated purchasing decisions. For example, it’s relatively easy to determine whether beef has been given antibiotics or hormones. But I have yet to see a label that indicates whether fish contains these toxic chemicals.

As a result, I recommend that you only consume wild salmon.

Michael Kummer

Michael Kummer is a healthy living enthusiast and CrossFit athlete whose goal is to help people achieve optimal health by bridging the gap between ancestral living and the demands of modern society.