Salmon is a common food fish classified as an oily fish[1] with a rich content of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.[2] Norway is a major producer of farmed and wild salmon, accounting for more than 50% of global salmon production. Farmed and wild salmon differ only slightly in terms of food quality and safety, with farmed salmon having lower content of environmental contaminants, and wild salmon having higher content of omega-3 fatty acids.[2]
Colour
Still Life with Salmon, 1866–1869, by Édouard Manet, shows a white-fleshed salmon
Salmon flesh is generally orange to red, although there are some examples of white-fleshed wild salmon. The natural color of salmon results from carotenoid pigments, largely astaxanthin and canthaxanthin in the flesh.[5] Wild salmon get these carotenoids from eating krill and other tiny shellfish.
The concentration of carotenoids exceeds 8 mg/kg of flesh, and all fish producers try to reach a level that represents a value of 16 on the "Roche Colour Card", a colour card used to show how pink the fish will appear at specific doses. This scale is specific for measuring the pink colour due to astaxanthin and is not for the orange hue obtained with canthaxanthin. The development of processing and storage operations, which can be detrimental on canthaxanthin flesh concentration, has led to an increased quantity of pigments added to the diet to compensate for the degrading effects of the processing. In wild fish, carotenoid levels of up to 25 mg are present, but levels of canthaxanthin are, in contrast, minor.[5]
PCBs, metformin, and mercury are some of the pollutants found in wild salmon,[6] caught close to wastewater treatment plants of major metropolitan areas in the United States’ Pacific Northwest.[7]
Impact on wild populations
Some environmental groups have advocated favoring certain salmon catches over others.[vague][8]
Products
Salmon steak (left) and fillets (right) in a market
Canned salmon in the U.S. is usually wild from the Pacific Ocean, though some farmed salmon is available in cans. Smoked salmon is another preparation method, and can either be hot- or cold-smoked. Lox can refer either to cold-smoked salmon or to salmon cured in a brine solution (also called gravlax). Traditional canned salmon includes some skin (which is harmless) and bone (which adds calcium). Skinless and boneless canned salmon is also available.
Raw salmon flesh may contain Anisakisnematodes, marine parasites that cause anisakiasis. Before the availability of refrigeration, Japan did not consume raw salmon. Salmon and salmon roe have only recently come into use in making sashimi (raw fish) and sushi, with the introduction of parasite-free Norwegian salmon in the late 1980s.[9]
Ordinary types of cooked salmon contain 500–1,500 mg DHA and 300–1,000 mg EPA (two similar species of fatty acids) per 100 grams[10]
^"What's an oily fish?". Food Standards Agency. 24 June 2004. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010.
^ a bElise Kjørstad (English translation by Ingrid P. Nuse) (22 December 2017). "How healthy is farmed salmon?". Sciencenorway.no. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
^United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
^National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
^ a b"Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition on the use of canthaxanthin in feedingstuffs for salmon and trout, laying hens, and other poultry" (PDF). European Commission — Health & Consumer Protection Directorate. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
^Anne-Katrine Lundebye (24 March 2017). "More environmental pollutants in wild salmon than in farmed salmon". Institute of Marine Research, Norway. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
^Meador, James P.; Yeh, Andrew; Young, Graham; Gallagher, Evan P. (2016). "Contaminants of emerging concern in a large temperate estuary". Environmental Pollution. 213: 254–267. Bibcode:2016EPoll.213..254M. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.088. ISSN 0269-7491. PMC 5509463. PMID 26907702.
^Click on View details for wild impacts – "Salmon: All Recommendations for Salmon". Seafood Watch, Monterey Bay Aquarium, California. 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
^Jiang, Jess (18 September 2015). "How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
^"Addendum A: EPA and DHA Content of Fish Species". Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. USDA. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
^Ojakangas, Beatrice A (1992). Scandinavian feasts: celebrating traditions throughout the year. U. of Minnesota Press. p. 220.
^Davidson, Alan. North Atlantic Seafood: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes. Ten Speed Press. p. 360.
^"Polynesian Cultural Center: Hawaiian Luau Food". Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
^Chris Rowthorn (1 October 2009). Japan. Lonely Planet. pp. 582–. ISBN 978-1-74179-042-9. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^Mark Bittman (10 June 1998). "The Minimalist; Burger With No Need of Ketchup". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009.
^Kinetz, Erika (22 September 2002). "So Pink, So New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
^"Norway's Introduction of Salmon Sushi to Japan". Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
Further reading
Come back, salmon, By Molly Cone, Sierra Club Books, 48 pages, ISBN 0-87156-572-2 - A book for juveniles describes the restoration of 'Pigeon Creek'.
The salmon: their fight for survival, By Anthony Netboy, 1973, Houghton Mifflin Co., 613 pages, ISBN 0-395-14013-7
Trading Tails: Linkages Between Russian Salmon Fisheries and East Asian Markets. Shelley Clarke. (November 2007). 120pp. ISBN 978-1-85850-230-4.
"Last Stand of the American Salmon," G. Bruce Knecht for Men's Journal
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salmon dishes.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Salmon as food.
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
Salmon as food
Plea for the Wanderer, an NFB documentary on West Coast salmon