6 4 March 2016
Salmon eile
Government, IFA and multinational
fish-farmers deny reality that typical
farmed smoked salmon contained 10
unsafe chemical residues
ENVIRONMENT
Lastyearthescalpsofsuper-chefDarinaAllenand
super-foodieSallyMcKennawerequietlyobtainedfor
the‘BoycottFarmedSalmon’Christmascampaign–in
delightfullydifferentways.ThecampaignquotedSlow
FoodInternational’soppositiontofarmedsalmon,spe-
cicallyits‘NotOnMyPlate’listingoffarmedsalmon.
BallymaloeCookerySchool’sAllenwasPresidentofSlow
FoodinIrelandandMcKennawasinvolvedinsettingup
awatered-downSlowFood‘Snail’marketinglogo.After
thecampaignimpliedhypocrisy,Allen,afriendofAgri-
culture Minister Simon Coveney, somehow felt she
should“stepback’fromherroleasPresidentofSlow
FoodIreland.McKenna’sSnailhasvanishedwithouta
trail.However,bothoftheIrishfoodcelebscontinueto
promoteIrish‘organic’smokedsalmonanditsartisan
producers,evenIFitsuggestsadoublestandard.Their
lackofsupportfortheboycottisnotunexpected.
Ontheotherendofthepoliticalrainbow,thecam-
paignfoundanallyinthe surprisingform ofEamon
DeValera’sgrandson,EamonO’Cuív,TD,thelong-stand-
ingFFGalwayDeputy–popularsupporterofallthings
rural.
O’CuívtoldtheOireachtasAgricultureFoodandFish-
eriesCommitteehearingsinearlyDecemberthathe“will
nottouchfarmedsalmonbecauseitisatotallyunnatural
product”,referringspecicallytotheuseofchemicals.
AstoryledbyConnacht Tribunereporter,DaraBradley,
accurately described the campaign’shighlighting of
O’Cuív’scomments.BUTabanner-headlinedfeatureon
thefrontpage:‘TDwantsfarmedsalmonboycott’.Tox-
icity-friendlyphonesinthewestrangofftheirhooks
beforetheinkwasdryandanapologytotheTDfollowed
thenextweek.ThecannyO’Cuívfelthehadbeenused
byeveryone.Thistimehewasright.
TherowwastriggeredbythepublicationbyBoycott
FarmedSalmonofapre-slaughterchemical-residuetest
oftypical‘organic’farmedsalmonwhichlistedtenchem-
icals. The ten chemicals include pesticides, food
preservatives,dyes, and antibiotics.All of them are
recordedatlevelsbelowtheMinimumResidueLevel
allowablesetbytheMarineInstituteandsoarelistedin
theAnnual‘ChemicalResiduesinIrishFarmedFinsh’
Reportas“compliant”.
Boththecompanyinvolved,MarineHarvest,aNorwe-
gian multinational that controls 80% of Irish
farmed-salmonproductionandtheIFAhaveissueddeni-
als.ThecommentstellanextraordinarytaleandIinclude
themseriallyaftertherelevantchemicalsummary.
by Tony Lowes
A
skedifthelimitationsonchemicalresidues
infarmedsalmonsetbyourgovernmentand
itsagenciesareadequatetoprotecthealth,
DrDavidCarpenter,Director,InstituteforHealth
andtheEnvironmentattheUniversityatAlbanyin
theUS,wroteinapersonalcommunicationtothe
BoycottFarmedSalmon Campaign that,“Inmy
judgmentmanyofthemarenot”.
Malachiteisprobablythemosttoxicoftheten
chemicals.Formorethantenyearsithasbeen
knowtocausecarcinogenesis,mutagenesis,chro-
mosomalfractures,teratogenecityandrespiratory
toxicityinsomemammalsincludingorgandamage
andmutagenic,carcinogenicanddevelopmental
abnormalities.
Alltenchemicalsarerecordedatlevelsbelow
theMinimumResidueLevelSETbytheMarineInsti-
tute and so are listed in the annual ‘Chemical
Residues in Irish Farmed Finfish’ report as
“compliant”.
Introduction
March 2016 6 5
ThisdocumentistheMarineInstitute’sInspec-
tor’srecordof20June2012ofchemicalresidues
testingundertakenbyMarineHarveston3Sep-
tember2011onafullygrownsalmonaboutto
bemarketed.Theproductiscertiedorganic
undera2009EURegulationsupervisedbythe
MinisterforAgriculture,thecompetentauthor-
ityforthesector,throughthe‘TheStandards
forOrganicFoodandFarminginIreland’.
ThedocumentwasprovidedbytheMarine
InstitutetotheInformationCommissionerafter
a2012failurebytheDepartmentofAgriculture,
FisheriesandFoodtoprovideanyrecordsrelat-
ing to chemical use on sh farms led to an
appeal.TheMarineInstituteinitiallyinformed
theInformationCommissionerthatthey“held
norelevantdocuments”,astatementwhichthe
Information Commissioner wrote “does not
make any sense considering their legal
obligations”.
In July 2014, the Department notied the
InformationCommissionerthatithad“identi-
edanumberofrecordsrelevantwhichhad
beenoverlookedearlier”.TheInformationCom-
missioner’srulingstates:“Noexplanationhas
beenofferedbytheDepartmentastowhythese
reports were not identied as relevant in
response to the original or internal review
requests,orindeedwhenmyOfcequeriedthe
issuein2014”,concluding“theDepartment's
handlingoftherequestfallingshortofwhat
mightreasonablybeexpected”.
Threepre-slaughterResidueTestingInspec-
tionReportswereincludedinthetenInspection
Reportsreleased.MarineHarvestandtheIFA
havedeniedthatsomeofthechemicalslisted
arepresent(eventhoughsomeofthemareon
the company’s list as approved for use on
organicsalmon).TheIFAaccusedtheBoycott
FarmedSalmoncampaignofanattempt“toruin
hundredsof jobson Irishfarms,processing
plants,smokeriesandshopsinIrelandinthe
runuptoChristmaseachyear”.
Whenaskedabouttheresults,TheDepart-
ment of Agriculture consulted the Marine
Institute,itsscienticadvisor,whichinformed
itthatasthetestresultswereundertakenfora
privatecompany,itwouldnotbeappropriate
forittocomment–inspiteofthefactthatthe
recordwascreatedaspartoftheMarineInsti-
tute’s statutory regulatory role, by its own
Inspector.
The Minister for Health, who controls the
FoodandSafetyAuthority,referredthematter
backtotheMinisterforAgriculture.
THE 9
CHEMICALS
1
Emamectin benzoate
TopofthelistbecauseoftheIrishconnectionmust
comethepesticideEmamectinbenzoate,orallyadmin-
isteredinshfoodunderveterinaryprescription.Itis
soldunderthetradename‘Slice’toparalysethenerv-
oussystemoftheectoparasitesealice,arelativeof
thecommonheadlice.
Long-standingconcernsoverthischemicalhaveled
tothebanningfromthefoodchainintheUKofhorses
treatedwiththisproduct.
Thisbiocidehasbeenthemainstayagainstsealice
sincesalmonfarmsbegan.Sealicearenowthemajor
biological problem facingtheindustryworldwide,
accordingtoMarineHarvestCEOAlf-HelgeAarskog,
describingthemasthe“industry’sbiggestchallenge”
whenpublishingtheindustry’sQ32015Report.
Thelicenotonlydamagesh,leadingtosecondary
infectionsandhighmortality,buthaveafree-swim-
mingstageinwhichtheyhavebeenshowntoinfect
wildsalmon,reducingdramaticallythenumberswhich
wouldotherwisereturntotheirspawningground.
However, a 2015 peer-reviewed scientic study
showsthatsalmonlicehavemutated,whereverthey
arefound,acrosstheglobeinelevenyearstoresist
thispesticide.Itclassiesthechemicalasa‘muta-
gen’.AsresistancewasrstreportedfromIrelandin
2005,theauthorofthestudy,ProfessorKevinGlovers,
saysthat“Itisnotunthinkablethattheoriginofthe
observedgeneticchangeswasinIreland”.Getoutthe
greenjersey.
FACT MarineHarvestoffersnoreasonforignor-
ingGlovers’2014researchpublishedinOctober
2014inBMC Genomics2014.Itwasactuallythe
rsttimethatsciencehadmanagedtosimultane-
ouslydocumentthatamutationthataroseinjust
oneanimalinthemarineenvironmenthadspread
tothewholepopulation,anddocumentedhow
longthisprocesstook(11years).
MARINE HARVEST POSITION Thereisabso-
lutelynoscienticevidencewhatsoeverto
supportaclaimthatthisproducthasledtolice
‘mutating’.
IRISH FARMERS ASSOCIATION POSITION
Emamectinbenzoateisananti-sea-liceproduct
whichisauthorisedandhasapermittedresidue
limitauthorisedbytheEUandnational
authorities.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtoderivefromprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
Malachite is probably the most
toxic of the ten chemicals. For more
than ten years it has been known to
cause carcinogenesis, mutagenesis,
chromosomal fractures, teratogenecity
and respiratory toxicity in some
mammals including organ damage
Marine Institute’s Inspector’s record of 20 June 2012
6 6 March 2016
2
Deltamethrin
Apesticideusedtocreateabathtotreatthesame
ectoparasiteasEmamectin.TheProductDatasheet
issuedbythemanufacturerstates:“Thispesticideis
toxictoshandaquaticinvertebrates.Donotapply
directlytowater,toareaswheresurfacewaterispre-
sent,ortointertidalareasbelowthemeanhighwater
mark”.
Managementoffarmedsalmonrequirestransfer
bysuctioninpipesfromthecagesto‘wellboats’
lledwithtreatedwaterwhichisdischargeddirectly
intothebayafteruse.Nowusedincombinationwith
Emamectinassea-liceresistanceincreases.(See#1)
TheAquacultureStewardshipCouncil[ASC]certi-
cationapprovalreportonMarineHarvest’ssalmon
farmatDeenish,CountyKerry,dated05March2015,
statesthat:“Licelevelsonthissiteneverreachedthe
triggerlevelsfortreatments”.Thistriggerlevelwhich
requiresmandatorytreatmentisbasedonanegg-
bearingfemale’swinter-limitoftwosealicepersh.
TheASC-required‘Dashboard’forthisfarm(covering
thelasttwomonths)showsAlmostvepershinthe
rstweekofDecember2015–butonlyoneofthese
wasanegg-bearingfemale.Thusthetriggerlevelwas
notexceeded–andnotreatmentwasrequiredunder
thestate’sprotocol,thoughthenumberofliceindi-
catesaninfestationofatleast170,000licepercage.
Therecordshowsthatthecompanyappearsitself
totreattheseinfestationswithpesticides,giventhat
inthisDecember2015example,thenumberoflice
fellfrom4.9to0.35bythefollowingweekwhen-
without intervention - they would be expected to
increase.Yettheorganicstandardsstatethatfor
farmedsalmon“Theuseofparasitetreatments,not
includingcompulsorycontrolschemesoperatedby
theCompetentAuthority,shallbelimitedtotwiceper
yearoronceperyearwheretheproductioncycleis
less than 18 months”. These records show that
MarineHarvestusesseal-licetreatmentsasapro-
phylactic, greatly increasing damage to the
environmentandalsotheresistanceofthesealice.
FACT Delatmethrineisapprovedforuseon
organicshonMarineHarvest’sMedicinePosi-
tiveList.
IFA POSITION Theshdidnotcontainany
Deltamethrin
MARINE HARVEST POSITION Deltamethrinwas
notdetectedatall.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtoareonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
3
Tricaine mesilate [MS222]
Tricainemesilateisananaestheticusedundervet-
erinaryprescriptiontoanaesthetiseshforhandling
duringthesuctiontransferringtowellboatsforpes
-
ticide bath treatment or other procedures. It is
reportedaspresentonthepremisesofeveryopera-
tioninspectedinthetenlesreleased,withone
reportingitwaskeptintheglove-compartmentofa
van.Infact,MarineHarvest’sstorageofMS222in
Castletownbere, CountyCork,wasfoundbyone
Inspectortobeinadequateandthecompanywas
requiredtoinstalllocksontheofcestoragecup-
board(whichitsubsequentlydid).Givenitswide
usageandessentiallybenevolentpurpose(inthe
circumstances)itisinexplicablewhyitspresenceis
denied.Itissoldinaquariumshopsforthepain-
lesseuthanasiaofsh.
FACT MarineHarvest’sMedicinePositiveList
listsTricainemesilate[MS222]aspermittedfor
organicshanditispresent(belowtheMRL)
onallthreereportsonresiduetestsprovided
totheInformationCommissionerbytheMarine
Institute.
IFA POSITION Theshdidnotcontainany
MS222.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION MS222wasnot
detectedatall.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION The residue-
testingdatareferredtoareonfootofprivate
testing carried out by the industryand the
Instituteisthereforeunabletocommentonthe
specicsoftheresults.
4
Oxytetracycline
Thisantibioticisusedinhumanmedicine.Itisused
(underprescription)bysalmonfarmstotreatfurun-
culosis,rstconrmedinIrelandin1985andnow
consideredendemic.Thediseaseresultsingross
boils,andistransmittedthroughthewatercolumn,
directcontact,andvectorssuchasbirdsorsealice.
Itisalsousedtotreatsecondaryinfectionscaused
bytheincreasinglyfrequentjellyshattacksand
sealiceinfestations.
TheWorldHealthOrganisation(WHO)classied
Oxytetracycline in 2009 as “Critically Important
Antimicrobials for Human Medicine”. These are
deneda“usedassoletherapyoroneoffewalter-
nativestotreatserioushumandisease”includingin
thiscaseLymedisease,brucellosis,andpneumo-
nia. WHO is seeking to restrict the use of this
antibioticonanimals“in ordertopreservetheir
effectivenessinhumanmedicine”.
McDonaldsUSAannouncedinMarch2015thatit
willnolongersourcefoodfromsupplierswhouse
humanantibioticsontheiranimals,statingthat,
“Ourvisionforantimicrobialstewardshipispreserv-
ingantimicrobialeffectivenessinthefuturethrough
ethicalpracticestoday”.
FACT Oxytetracyclineispermittedforuseon
organic sh according to Marine Harvest’s
‘MedicinePositiveList’.
IFA POSITION Theshdidnotcontainany
Oxytetracycline.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION Oxytetracycline
wasnotdetectedatall.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtoisonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
5
Ethoxyquin &
6
Ethoxyquin DMK
Ethoxyquinisananti-oxidantaddedtotheincreas-
ingly lengthy animal food chain to prevent
spontaneouscombustionbecauserefrigerationis
“prohibitivelyexpensive”foranimalfeedtransport.
Ethoxyquinis‘authorised’,butonlyintheanimal
foodchain.Crossovertothehumanfoodchainisan
increasingconcern.In2015theAustralianTherapeu-
ticGoodsAdministrationdetectedthepresenceof
ethoxyquininmultiplekrill-oilproducts,augmenting
concernsthattherTHEREmayhavebeencontamina-
tionofotherOmega3shproducts.
Aworldwideconsumer-driventrendtoeliminatea
varietyofarticialpreservatives,avoursandcol-
ours,suchasEthoxyquin,fromourfoodshasledto
companieslikeNestléUSA,Hershey’s,MARSand
GeneralMillseliminatingorcommittingtoeliminate
manychemicals-andspecicallyEthoxyquin.
Recent reconsideration by the European Food
Safety Authority [EFSA] of ethoxyquin MRL, pub-
lishedon18November2015,states:“Consideringthe
datagapsintheavailablestudies,nosafedietary
levelforsh,includingsalmonids,canbederived”.
Thisndingdoesnotappeartohavebeenaddressed
inIrelandyet.
FACT Ethoxyquinis‘permitted’foruseonlyin
animalfeedingredientsandshouldnotbepre-
sentinthehumanfoodchain.
IFA POSITION BHAandEthoxyquinareper-
mittedantioxidantsfoundinshmealandsh
oil(feedingredients)necessaryforthepreven-
tionofspontaneouscombustioninshmeal
andoilstransportedbysea.Thesewereper-
mittedantioxidantsin2011andagainatbarely
detectablelevels.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION BHAandEthox-
yquin/EthoxyquinDimeraresimplyantioxidants
foundinshmealandshoil(feedingredients).
Thesewerereportedatbarelydetectablelevels.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtoareonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
THE 9 CHEMICALS
Continued
ENVIRONMENT
March 2016 6 7
7
BHA (butylated
hydroxyanisole)
Anti-oxidantslikeEthoxyquin,BHAandBHTare,how-
ever,permittedinfoodproductstoextendshelflife,
inspiteofthefactthattheUSNationalInstitutesof
HealthreportedthatBHAis“reasonablyanticipated
tobeahumancarcinogen”basedonevidenceofcar-
cinogenicityinexperimentalanimals–suchasrats.
Criticspointoutthatitdoesthisexclusivelyinthe
forestomach,anorganthathumansdon'thave.
ControversysurroundstheuseofBHAandBHT,
withsomeproponentssuggestingthesameantioxi-
danteffectsthatBHAhasonfats(scavengingfree
radicals) can also neutralise the threat of other
carcinogens.
VitaminE-tocopherols-areanaturalalternative
andarelikelytobethepreservativeusedinfood,
particularly those labelled ‘organic’,marketed in
health-foodshops.
FACT Ethoxyquinispermittedonlyasanaddi-
tivetoanimalfeedandshouldnot‘cross-over’
intothehumanfoodchain.The‘OrganicFarm-
ing and Food Standards in Ireland’ list for
approveduseonlypermit“Naturalantioxidant
substances”withthe“userestrictedtofeedfor
aquaculture”.Ethoxyquinisnotanaturalanti-
oxidantsubstance.
IFA POSITION BHAandEthoxyquinareper-
mittedantioxidantsfoundinshmealandsh
oil(feedingredients)necessaryforthepreven-
tionofspontaneouscombustioninshmeal
andoilstransportedbysea.Thesewereper-
mittedantioxidantsin2011andagainat
barelydetectablelevels.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION OBHAandEthox-
yquin/EthoxyquinDimeraresimplyantioxidants
foundinshmealandshoil(feedingredients).
Thesewerereportedatbarelydetectablelevels.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtareonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
8
BHT Butylated
hydroxytoluene
ThechemicalcousintoBHA,BHTisanotheranti-oxi-
dant.Seeabove.
FACT The“barelydetectablelevels”Marine
HarvestadmitsforBHAare<0.3ug/kg.BHTis
recordedas<0.4ug/kg.itisutterlyillogicalfor
MarineHarvesttocharacterisea<0.3resultasa
“barelydetectablelevel”whileclaimingthata
<0.4readingforBHTshowsthatBHTwas“not
detectedatall”.
IFA POSITION Theshdidnotcontainany
BHT.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION The results in
questionshowthatBHTwasnotdetectedatall.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferedtoisonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
9
Malachite green and
leuco malachite green dyes
Salmonarepinkforthesamereasonamingosare
pink:theirdietsareheavyinkrillandshrimp.Denied
theirnaturaldietofkrillandshrimp,farmedsalmon’s
eshisgreyandunappetising.Thedeepestorange
isassociatedwithwildAlaskansalmonwhosedietin
theBalticSeaispredominantlykrill,whereasNorth
AtlanticsalmonareapinksodistinctthatCrayola
havenamedacolourafterit–“salmonpink”.
DyeshavebeenasubjectofcontroversysinceKing
EdwardIissuedtherstfood-adulterationregulation
in1300banninggroundbonesusedforwhitening
our.Malachiteisalsousedasalocalantisepticand
waswidelyusedbytheshbreedingindustrytocon-
trolthefungusSaprolegnia,awatermouldthatkills
theeggsandyoungfry.
TracesofmalachitegreenwhichtheMarineInsti-
tute’s2011ResiduesReportsstateis“illegal”are,
consequently,inexplicable.The2008EURegulations
givea“ReproductiveToxicityWarning:Suspectedof
damagingfertilityortheunbornchild”,withafurther
Warningthatitis“verytoxictoaquaticlife”,andan
“acutehazardwithlong-lastingeffects”.
TheMarineInstitute’slastreportofthischemical
(abovetheMRL)wasin2006,leadingthe2014Chem-
icalResiduesReportstoclaimthat“Recentresults
suggestthatasaresultofincreasedindustryaware-
nessthatitisanunauthorisedsubstance,supported
bymonitoringandenforcement,theuseofmalachite
greenhasceased”.
Infactconcernoverdyesinsalmonareindirectly
acknowledgedbytheMarineInstitute’supgradingin
September2014toenableanewvalidatedanalytical
method“toexpandtestingtocoverabroadersuiteof
dyes”.TheMRLformalachitewasloweredfrom1.0to
0.5ug/kgatthesametime.
Aftera2003lawsuitintheUnitedStates,allfarmed
salmonthatisdyedwasrequiredtostateonthepack-
agingthatitcontaina“addedcolouring”.Thishas
sincebeentightenedtorequiretheidenticationof
thedyeinquestion,albeitthroughacomplexcode
system.
ThereisnoregulationinIrelandrequiringorganic
salmontodeclareifdyeshavebeenusedintheirpro-
duction,orwhatthosedyesare.
FACT Onceagain,thereadingsformalachite
-<0.5ug/kg–whichwas“notdetectedatall”
arehigherthanthereadingsforBHA-<0.3ug/
kg–whichMarineHarvestadmitsindicatesBHA
is“present”.Malachiteisprobablythemost
toxicofthetenchemicals.Formorethanten
yearsithasbeenknowtocausecarcinogenesis,
mutagenesis, chromosomal fractures, tera-
togenecity and respiratory toxicity in some
mammals,includingorgandamage,mutagenic,
carcinogenic and developmental
abnormalities.
The‘OrganicFarmingandFoodStandardsinIre-
land’aresilentontheuseofdyesinorganic
foods.
IFA POSITION Theshdidnotcontainany
MalachiteGreen.
MARINE HARVEST POSITION The results in
questionshowthatMalachiteGreenandLeuco
Malachitewasnotdetectedatall.
MARINE INSTITUTE POSITION Theresiduetest-
ingdatareferredtoareonfootofprivatetesting
carriedoutbytheindustryandtheInstituteis
thereforeunabletocommentonthespecicsof
theresults.
Glovers was the corresponding author: he is princi-
pal scientist and research group leader for the
population genetics group at Institute of Marine
Research, Norway and a professor at the Sea lice
Research Centre at the University of Bergen. The
publication lists nine co-authors from three aca-
demic institutions in Norway and has never been
challenged.
Marine Harvest’s ‘Medicine Positive list’, which lists
chemicals approved for use by the company, includ-
ing those permitted in their organic certified salmon
production, states that no withdrawal period is
required, in spite of the fact that this pesticide is
banned in Canada, and a 60-day withdrawal period
is required in the USA, to protect public health.

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