Norwegian salmon in the pink
has arrived in the ice cold waters of Norway. In the near future,
salmon raised in certain conditions will be able to bear the label
'This is a free range salmon fillet'. This move comes after
growing consumer demand for the ethical production of seafood.
"We are noticing an international trend where consumers demand ethics in the methods of fish farming and slaughtering. Manufacturers who fail to meet these demands are likely to suffer economically," said Børge Damsgård, principal scientist at Norwegian research company Fiskeriforskning.
So-called ethical fish do not necessarily have better quality or taste than fish that has been farmed and slaughtered according to standard procedures, says Damsgård. What is important is how people feel about the product.
"For quite some time, producers of cattle and poultry have been under ethical pressure, but this has not applied to fish farmers," he said. "Fish have few similarities with us; therefore we have assumed that they lack feelings. Today, however, consumers are inquiring about the conditions of fish at fish farms.
"We know that the salmon can feel aggression, stress and possibly also pain before being gutted and placed onto the assembly line. Therefore, scientists have begun talking about ethical slaughtering, defined as a method involving a quick, painless death.
"However, it has not been proven that fish actually feel pain, and since we usually anaesthetise the fish before slaughtering it, it will not experience pain in any case. Still, using anaesthetics involves a great deal of stress for the salmon. Contrary to anaesthetising, direct gutting or bleeding, striking the fish on the head works well as a quick killing method."
The Norwegian labelling initiative is very much in line with the EU-funded project SEAFOODplus. The stated strategic objective of this programme is to make seafood safe for the consumer by identifying risk factors, avoiding risks caused by viral and bacterial contamination, biogenic amines in seafood and to undertake risk-benefit analysis.
"This project will broaden our perspective and consider the ethics of the entire chain of production of various types of fish," said Damsgård. "In order to develop a set of ethical methods we have to know more about differences in behaviour and properties of fish such as salmon, halibut, sea bass and cod. Thanks to this project, we are given the opportunity to work with these issues over a long period of time."
This is the latest in a long line of developments designed to improve the production of seafood. Earlier this year the EU's standing committee on the food chain and animal health reduced authorised levels of the feed additive canthaxanthin in salmon farms.
In nature, salmon gets its pinkish colour from its shrimp diet and consumers expect the same colour from farmed salmon, which is why feed additives such as canthaxanthins have been used. The Commission stressed that removing this additive will not adversely affect the quality of the food, merely its colour.
"Scientific assessments have shown that a high intake of canthaxanthins produces an accumulation of pigments in the retina, affecting the sight," said EU Commissioner David Byrne. "The use of this feed additive is purely cosmetic, to colour food, and reduced levels of the additive will not adversely affect the taste or quality of our food which is why I wholeheartedly welcome the decision to reduce the authorised levels of canthaxanthins."
