Fish would be one of the healthiest meats on the planet but unfortunately most, whether farm-raised or ocean-caught, is contaminated with mercury and other toxins. This study is encouraging, however, and when my staff and I started researching sources of safe fish, we knew Alaskan salmon generally had lower levels of mercury to begin with.

The Vital Choice brand of salmon I now offer you was found--via independent laboratory testing we had performed on their fish--to be completely safe from mercury and other toxins, and it is now the only fish I will eat.

We recently ran a study that found many Alaskan salmon to be contaminated with PCBs. I questioned Randy Hartnell, president of Vital Choice Seafood, about this and he had this to say:

"I've corresponded with Dr. Jules Blais, the author of the study you cite. I asked him how to square the fact that we have never had a single detect for PCBs in our sockeye salmon while he implies that the Alaskan fish are contaminated. His response was that the levels are extremely minute, and the levels recorded in the lakes are the result of millions of fish each contributing these trace amounts over time. He said that the levels are not a health hazard and that the salmon are safe to eat. In fact, he stated that had eaten wild salmon the night before (and avoids farmed salmon). He said that the media, in their typical sensationalizing way, distorted the story to make it sound as though the salmon contained significant toxic amounts. He also acknowledged that the detect level we use in our tests of 10 ppb is low."

If you don't choose the Vital Choice brand, I would urge you to make sure that whatever salmon or other fish you eat has been lab-tested and shown to be free of harmful levels of mercury, even if it is from Alaska, because what this article doesn't make mention of is which regions of Alaska are safer and which are less so.

Related Articles:

What You Must Know Before You Eat Fish

High Levels of Toxic Mercury Found in Fish-Eaters

Mercury-Contaminated Fish Poses Health Risks to Adults

Study Challenges Finding That Mercury From Fish Does Not Harm Fetuses

Polluted Fish Reduce Male Birth Rate

Heart Disease Linked to Mercury-Contaminated Fish