Fish and PCBs

PCBs and Fish

Q: Doug, I was wondering about the quality of fish sold in my grocery store. Specifically, what recommendations do you have regarding Salmon and the best fish to eat for the important Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

A: Whew... this issue is a tough one. We generally think that fish is good to eat, but there's an increasing amount of controversy about this. Fish, in its natural state, is very healthy. The problem is what humans have done to the food supply. To give you an accurate response to your question, I referred to the book entitled What to Eat by Marion Nestle, one of my favorite books for unbiased nutrition information.

After reading Nestle's review of the situation, it seems to me that most fish sold in the supermarkets (including the salmon you mentioned) is farm-raised, rather than wild. The problem with this is that due to farming methods, there is a controversially high amount of PCBs in farm raised fish. And of course, since the problem affects an entire industry, it has become political. Nestle notes that the PCBs in many fish are over the amounts recommended by the EPA, but lower than the safety limits set by the FDA.

You mentioned the importance of Omega-3's. I absolutely love Omega-3's and unfortunately, because PCBs are higher in fatty fish, PCBs are also higher in fish that typically have high amounts of Omega-3's. It seems to me that this is another reason to use a high quality fish oil supplement, instead of relying on your fish intake. When you are shopping for fish at your local stores assume that it is farm raised if it's not advertised as "wild". And don't be afraid to ask the supermarket managers where they are getting their fish from. Lastly, as I mentioned before, if you'd like to read a wonderful review of fish and the PCB issue, I do recommend Nestle's What to Eat.

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