Are there any traces of antibiotics in smoked salmon? Here’s what the new Italian test discovered

The smoked salmon It is a highly appreciated food, whose consumption is no longer limited to the Christmas holidays and great events. Behind his production, however, they often hide ethical and environmental problems that many consumers do not yet know, despite numerous investigations of the last few years have highlighted the serious conditions in which the salmon in intensive farms are held.

Shocking images of fish piled up in narrow spaces, without natural light and forced to live in highly stressful environments, have gone around the world, bringing to light what happens. Some reports then documented the use of antibiotics and pesticides, the pollution of the water and the spread of diseases between the fish, while other investigations have highlighted how intensive breeding contributes significantly to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of the marine ecosystems.

Not only that, there is also to consider the environmental impact of the bullied salmon, which is far from negligible, in fact it requires large resources for the production of vegetable feed and heavily impacts on natural resources.

Despite these problems, salmon is still one of the most loved foods. However, if you decide to consume it, it is advisable to pay attention not only to the quality of the product, but also to its origin and the breeding method.

The test

Today we are talking about a new test that has put the smoked salmon to the test. To lead him the experts of the magazine The life jacket, who took champion 12 brands of smoked salmon, To evaluate its nutritional quality but also food safety.

The samples analyzed came from various producers and included conventional and organic breeding salmon but also wild salmon. These are the following products:

The investigation first examined the presence of contaminants and antibiotics residues, to ensure that salmon did not represent a health risk. Etoxichin levels were also analyzed, an additive previously used in fish feed, which has been prohibited in the EU since 2017.

Finally, another crucial aspect was the nutritional profile of fatty acids, with particular attention to the Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio, essential to evaluate the nutritional quality of the product. However, the test, leaving a crucial component out of the trial for those who want to make more sustainable and responsible food choices.

The results

One of the positive news that emerged from the test concerns the absence of contaminants. None of the samples analyzed has shown traces of antibiotics or eBoxichin.

The Omega 3/Omega 6 report is instead the parameter that revealed the most evident differences between the samples. The smoked salmon from conventional breeding has shown a ratio on average around 1, which is about 10 times less than the natural one that is in the wild salmon.

In particular, the supermarket products such as those of Lidl and Eurospin had a very low omega 3/omega 6 ratio (0.41 and 0.66, respectively). This means that these products contain a prevalence of omega 6 fats, which are associated with inflammatory processes in the body. On the contrary, biological and wild salmonwith a higher ratio in favor of the omega 3 benefits, they are the best.

But what do these nutritional differences depend on? Mainly, from the food of salmon and breeding conditions. Wild salmon, which feeds on crustaceans and small fish, has a much better nutritional profile than breeding salmon, which often has a vegetable diet. In addition, the breeding density affects the development of fish: those who swim in larger spaces tend to accumulate less omega 6.

The test also verified the correspondence between the weight declared on the label and the actual one of the salmon. In two cases, a significant discrepancy was found: the Conad champion (declared 100 g, detected 92 g) and the smoked Norwegian Fjord Salmon (declared 500 g, detected 430 g). However, most of the samples complied with the tolerance limits required by law.

In the end, Although there is a nice difference between the various productsand therefore a ranking (for complete results refer to the February issue of Life jacket) All the salmon analyzed have however obtained at least the sufficiencysince they are devoid of contaminants, a fundamental aspect for food safety.

The basic indication is however clear: if we really have to buy smoked salmon, we choose the biological or wild one that at least guarantee a greater supply of Omega 3, which had already discovered a previous test. Read also: Breeding or wild salmon? The test reveals what contains the most Omega 3