What’s healthier?
A portion of Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon, or a Big Mac and fries?
You be the judge.
In 2021 NOFF showed that Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon is not as healthy as the industry claims: there are more “bad” fats in a 200g portion of farmed salmon than a Big Mac and Fries – see the graphs comparing the % by weight of farmed salmon compared with Big Macs, other fast foods, and other types of fish and meat products.
In the interests of transparency, NOFF provides the raw data from independent salmon flesh testing.
Salmon flesh testing for fat content was conducted in October 2021. The testing was done independently and objectively, funded privately through NOFF.
- Salmon portion samples from Tassal, Huon Aquaculture and Petuna were sourced from major retail outlets in Melbourne.
- A careful record of methodology and chain of custody was kept.
- “Blind” flesh testing was carried out by Eurofins, a specialist measuring laboratory with impeccable credentials.
- The data was analysed by a qualified scientist with experience in food chemistry and data analysis.
- That data was then compared with publicly available data from McDonalds, available on their Nutrition page.
The results were reported in The Guardian Australia and The Australian (click here if that’s paywalled).
Food Standards Australia and NZ relies primarily on companies self-reporting nutritional issues. Its latest nutritional guide to farmed Atlantic salmon is based on data from 2008, however production, feed, farm size and stock density have changed significantly since then.
Here are the graphs individually:
- Farmed Salmon Fat Content Compared with Fast Food and Other High Fat Foods
- Farmed Salmon Saturated Fat Content vs Fast Foods
- Farmed Salmon Total Fat Content vs Other Meat Products
- Farmed Salmon Saturated Fat Content vs Other Meat Products
- Farmed Salmon Total Fat Content vs Other Seafood
These graphs compare percent by weight of salmon compared with other products. To compare 200g of salmon with a standard Big Mac and a medium serve of fries, the calculations are:
- A Big Mac is 233g. Based on McDonald’s stated percentage of fat per 100g, this contains 31.3g of fat.
- A medium serve of fries is 104g. Based on McDonald’s stated percentage of fat per 100g, this contains 15g of fat.
- Total fat for a Big Mac and fries: 46.3g
- Huon’s results for 200g of salmon were 48.4 and 47.4, average: 47.9g
- Tassal’s results for 200g of salmon were 42.4 and 57.0, average: 49.7g
(Petuna was less, NZ salmon more)
NOFF 