Farmed Salmon Contain Flame Retardants
The same research team that found more PCBs in farmed salmon than in wild salmon has found similar results for another scarily acronymed family of chemicals: PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, flame retardants found in electronics and fabrics. PBDEs have not been conclusively proven to cause harm to human health, but they screw up hormonal systems of lab rats, the European Union has banned the most common two, California is banning them as of 2008, the sole U.S. manufacturer of the chemicals has agreed to halt production, and their chemical structure is similar to that of PCBs, which most certainly do mess with neurological development. In case you’re not confused enough about the whole fish issue, the study found that while in general farmed salmon had markedly higher concentrations of PBDEs than wild salmon, wild chinook salmon from Oregon and British Columbia was more contaminated than some farmed fish; also, Chilean farmed salmon is better than North American, which is better than European. There will be a quiz.
