Posted by Larry Hoover on September 1, 2003, at 13:59:46
In reply to Re: Chart of omega 3 content in fish, posted by Kacy on August 31, 2003, at 15:19:22
> Farm-raised fish are less likely to be contaminated by mercury and other poisons than ocean-caught fish, but they may not be as high in omega-3 fatty acids, depending on what they were fed, Willett says.
I'm afraid that this generalization is not really valid. Some farm-raised fish have more POPs (persistent organic pollutants) and mercury than do wild-caught fish of the same size and species.
In my earlier reply to you, I gave the omega-3 content for farmed Atlantic salmon, which has much more omega-3 than the wild-caught version (USDA database). However, this is true for North American farmed fish, but not true for some European fish. It depends on the aquaculture methods employed.
> If the fish are fed other fish or algae, they will have a high content of omega-3 fatty acids, he says.
That is true. Fish meal is a large component of North American feeds.
> But if they are fed wheat and corn, they won't contain as much.
Used as filler in Europe.
> "We need to be monitoring this," he says. "And it may well be that there needs to be a label that gives the omega-3 fatty acid content of farmed fish."I'd like to see that, or simply a reference to what they were fed.
> Although I can't find the piece now, when I was researching I read of a two-year study comparing people taking fish oil supplements daily to people eating fish three times a week. At the end of two years, the fish eaters had better whatever-they-measured. In other words, I don't know how they tested them and don't recall how the article described it. I can't believe I didn't copy that off. I'll keep looking.I hope you find the article. I'd like to read it myself.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:252684
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030828/msgs/256134.html