Yesterday I blogged on why farm-raised and wild salmon might look different. Today I'll answer a 2nd question about the other differences between these 2 types of salmon.
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Hi Dr. Deena.
Thanks for your post and healthy eating and cooking tips on Instgram. Can you clarify the difference between wild and farm raised salmon? Is there a difference between levels of fats and healthy omega 3?
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Another great question, though somewhat more controversial than the first...but I will try my best to answer.
The differences between wild and farm-raised salmon is dependent on its environment:
-what it eats
-what's in its environment (pollution, hormones, medications (like antibiotics), etc.)
-the water supply in which they live
I mentioned that wild salmon eat krill (small crustaceans), plankton, shrimp, etc.
Farm-raised salmon eat whatever is fed to them which usually consists of fish meal (ground and dried up smaller fish like anchovies, herring, sardines, and mackerel), fish oils from these smaller fish and plant proteins.
The FDA has tight restrictions on what farm-raised salmon can and cannot be fed.
Here's an interesting fact -- it takes 4.5 kg of prey to make 0.45 kg of wild salmon; but it takes 1 kg of prey to make 1 kg of farm-raised salmon. Farm-raised salmon require less feed because they aren't burning as many calories as wild salmon--who are working hard to stay alive! Since the farm-raised salmon aren't as active, they end up being slightly more fatty than wild salmon. Therefore; farm-raised salmon have a slightly higher concentration of saturated fats than wild salmon.
When it comes to hormones in farm-raised salmon -- don't be fooled by labels that say "hormone-free". All salmon should be hormone-free because it is illegal to use growth hormones in salmon as per the FDA!
Salmon are occasionally given antibiotics on farms, thus there is a potential to be eating salmon that was treated with antibiotics. Again the FDA regulates antibiotic use in salmon, but to be safe look for labels that say "antibiotic-free."
Both wild and farm-raised salmon live in water that can be contaminated by pollution or chemicals like mercury or polychlorinated (PCBs).
Some research suggests that these chemicals and contaminants are higher in farm-raised salmon versus wild salmon in the USA; however, they are higher in only trace amounts (very small) and may not be clinically significant overall.
Keep in mind that ocean water is not 100% free of chemicals either because ultimately the human race has tainted this too...and different parts of the ocean have different amounts of chemicals/contaminants!
It seems that salmon farms have to meet very tight regulations to ensure that the water and feed is as clean and pure as possible, so that the salmon can develop in a healthy environment.
Studies vary when it comes to omega-3-fatty acids, but majority show that farm-raised salmon have more omega-3-fatty acids than wild salmon. Farmers ensure that the farm-raised salmon eat enough oils (mainly provided from its fish meal).
Hope this gives you a good understanding of why each salmon type is so different.
My take:
I hope this information helps!
Please feel free to ask any questions ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
******************************************************************************************
Hi Dr. Deena.
Thanks for your post and healthy eating and cooking tips on Instgram. Can you clarify the difference between wild and farm raised salmon? Is there a difference between levels of fats and healthy omega 3?
******************************************************************************************
Another great question, though somewhat more controversial than the first...but I will try my best to answer.
The differences between wild and farm-raised salmon is dependent on its environment:
-what it eats
-what's in its environment (pollution, hormones, medications (like antibiotics), etc.)
-the water supply in which they live
I mentioned that wild salmon eat krill (small crustaceans), plankton, shrimp, etc.
Farm-raised salmon eat whatever is fed to them which usually consists of fish meal (ground and dried up smaller fish like anchovies, herring, sardines, and mackerel), fish oils from these smaller fish and plant proteins.
The FDA has tight restrictions on what farm-raised salmon can and cannot be fed.
Here's an interesting fact -- it takes 4.5 kg of prey to make 0.45 kg of wild salmon; but it takes 1 kg of prey to make 1 kg of farm-raised salmon. Farm-raised salmon require less feed because they aren't burning as many calories as wild salmon--who are working hard to stay alive! Since the farm-raised salmon aren't as active, they end up being slightly more fatty than wild salmon. Therefore; farm-raised salmon have a slightly higher concentration of saturated fats than wild salmon.
When it comes to hormones in farm-raised salmon -- don't be fooled by labels that say "hormone-free". All salmon should be hormone-free because it is illegal to use growth hormones in salmon as per the FDA!
Salmon are occasionally given antibiotics on farms, thus there is a potential to be eating salmon that was treated with antibiotics. Again the FDA regulates antibiotic use in salmon, but to be safe look for labels that say "antibiotic-free."
Both wild and farm-raised salmon live in water that can be contaminated by pollution or chemicals like mercury or polychlorinated (PCBs).
Some research suggests that these chemicals and contaminants are higher in farm-raised salmon versus wild salmon in the USA; however, they are higher in only trace amounts (very small) and may not be clinically significant overall.
Keep in mind that ocean water is not 100% free of chemicals either because ultimately the human race has tainted this too...and different parts of the ocean have different amounts of chemicals/contaminants!
It seems that salmon farms have to meet very tight regulations to ensure that the water and feed is as clean and pure as possible, so that the salmon can develop in a healthy environment.
Studies vary when it comes to omega-3-fatty acids, but majority show that farm-raised salmon have more omega-3-fatty acids than wild salmon. Farmers ensure that the farm-raised salmon eat enough oils (mainly provided from its fish meal).
Hope this gives you a good understanding of why each salmon type is so different.
My take:
- Eat wild salmon when you can and choose Pacific salmon when available. Pacific salmon are mostly wild though some small farms exist.
- Pacific salmon includes the following types: Chinook, Sockeye,Coho,Chum
- Avoid Atlantic salmon if you are looking for wild salmon, since these will mostly be farmed
- Be careful when choosing salmon since not all "wild" salmon are really wild: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/science/though-labeled-wild-that-serving-of-salmon-may-be-farmed-or-faux.html
- I have even heard of people dying the salmon fillets to make it look more red and "wild-like". Its very,very difficult to tell the difference with wild versus farm raised simply by color, fat, etc. esp. because there are so many varieties out there! Just be smart when you can.
- If you are lucky and live in an area with salmon farms - get to know and visit the local farms to see how the salmon pens appear & if the fish look healthy
I hope this information helps!
Please feel free to ask any questions ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
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