How to avoid worms, diseases, and sea lice!
What's wrong with farm-raised and wild caught salmon?
With more calories, twice the fat content, and over 20% more saturated fat, farm-raised salmon is far less healthy than its wild-caught counterpart. Moreover, much of the salmon that people consume today is loaded with contaminants that have no place on our plates. Some studies warn that a single meal per month of farmed Atlantic salmon can expose consumers to contaminant levels exceeding standards from the World Health Organization. The risk is greatest for infants, children, and pregnant women because of the potential harm from contaminants to developing brains.
Wild-caught and farm-raised salmon also differ in nutritional value. Wild salmon is more nutritionally dense than farm-raised salmon and can contain up to three times less fat, fewer calories, and more vitamins and minerals like iron, potassium, and b-12. The negatives of farm-raised salmon are as follows: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These pollutants found in farm-raised salmon have been linked to type-2 diabetes and obesity. They've also been linked to an increased risk of stroke in women.
Some people choose salmon based on color and ask why is farm raised salmon so pink?
Salmon farmers typically use corn and soy pellets that are supplemented with beta carotene dyes or astaxanthin for this color — often, a synthetically derived source, rather than one that contains naturally occurring, nutrient-rich antioxidants. Salmon farms also harbor two especially virulent para- sites: sea lice and kudoa (soft-flesh syndrome). Sea lice infestations have been reported by op- erators in Canada, Norway, Scotland, and Ireland because the fish are raised in crowded pens forcing the use of antibiotics. Sea lice chew on salmon, creating open lesions that weaken their ability to maintain a healthy salt-to-water balance.
While the Food and Drug Administration encourages “consumers not to alter their consumption of farmed or wild salmon,” because both are well below tolerated levels of PCBs, wild caught salmon is definitely the safer choice. With the exception of Sushi. Worms are more often found in wild salmon because they spend part of the time in fresh water. Typically farm raised salmon will not have worms. If you are insisting on eating something raw, yeah make sure to stay away from from the wild caught salmon! Top chefs will tell you that fish preparation commonly involves cooking temperatures of only 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit—well below the 145-degree safety threshold. In addition, fish has to remain frozen at -4 degrees for seven days before worms are typically killed. Better to be safe than sorry. Farm-raised salmon is relatively safer than wild caught. But it still has a risk of parasites. The best choice is buying "Sashimi grade" or "Sushi grade." If you can't buy it, freeze it for more than seven days at minus 20℃ (minus 4°F) to kill parasites.