The mild, satisfying flavor and melt-in-your mouth texture of farmed salmon is pleasing to kids and adults alike, yet unanswered questions about its origins may leave a bad taste in your mouth. Were the water conditions sanitary? Were the fish fed a nutritious diet? Did the fish have enough room? Before you pass up an opportunity for a delicious farmed-salmon dish, here are six myths about farmed salmon we’re happy to debunk.
MYTH: All fish farming is bad.
FACT: Farming seafood can provide a consistent, high-quality, year-round supply of healthy and delicious protein. And when it's done right, fish farming — also known as aquaculture — can be environmentally friendly and can be a crucial way to supplement wild-caught fish supplies. On the other hand, poor farming practices, including those that cause water pollution and the overuse of chemicals and antibiotics are indeed very bad news.
Our strict Quality Standards for Aquaculture opens in a new tab and third-party verification process ensure that we only source farmed seafood (including salmon) from the world's leaders in environmentally responsible aquaculture. We know they’re truly invested in our standards because together with scientists and environmentalists, they helped us to develop our Quality Standards for Aquaculture, which include:
No use of antibiotics, added growth hormones and poultry and mammalian by-products in feed
Traceability that allows us to track our farmed seafood right back to where it swam
Requirements that producers minimize the impacts of fish farming on the environment by monitoring water quality and surrounding habitats, and sourcing feed ingredients responsibly
Strict protocols to prevent farmed fish from escaping into the wild and protect wildlife around the farm
Our farmers do not treat nets with toxic chemicals to get rid of algae and no pesticides are used
Genetically engineered fish are prohibited
Colorants only from non-synthetic sources
MYTH: There is no way to know how the farmed salmon you’re purchasing was raised.
FACT: At Whole Foods Market, we know exactly where our farmed seafood comes from. We know where it swam and we know what it was fed...and more importantly, what it wasn't fed!
Third party auditors verify traceability of all our farm products during on-site audits. In addition, our suppliers use Trace Register software to track their products through the supply chain to help us verify traceability.
MYTH: Farmed salmon are kept in crowded pens.
FACT: Our farmed salmon are raised in low-density pens where they are carefully monitored and receive nutritious feed without pesticides or land animal by-products.
MYTH: Farmed salmon sold at Whole Foods Market might be genetically engineered.
FACT: Our Quality Standards for Aquaculture opens in a new tab prohibit cloned or genetically engineered animals.
MYTH: Farmed salmon from other countries shouldn’t be trusted.
FACT: Our Quality Standards for farm-raised salmon include strict requirements and expectations for all producers operating in all countries who supply fish to our stores. Our supplier partners in Norway, Iceland and Scotland are the leaders in environmentally friendly salmon farming. Take a look at this video on YouTube of our salmon farming partners in Norway. opens in a new tab
The Responsibly Farmed Seal
Whether you’re shopping for farmed salmon or another type of farmed fish, you’ll find our “Responsibly Farmed” seal. This means that the farm has been third-party audited annually to ensure that our Quality Standards are being met. No other grocery store or fish market has standards like ours.Fishing for more information? Learn more about our sustainable seafood initiatives opens in a new tab including our strict Quality Standards for Aquaculture and our standards for wild-caught seafood opens in a new tab.
Have you already made the choice to only purchase seafood raised or caught in environmentally friendly ways? Tell us about it in the comments below.
