Omega-3 fatty acids inNorwegian farmed salmon

• Norway does not haverecommendations for EPA and DHAintake, except that pregnant women arerecommended to eat 200 mg of DHAper day. Nor are there recommendationsregarding the dietary ratio betweenomega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

• Internationally, the European Food SafetyAuthority (EFSA) recommends that healthyadults consume 250 mg of EPA andDHA per day for the prevention ofcardiovascular disease. EFSA alsorecommends pregnant women toconsume an additional 100–200 mg of DHA.

• One portion of farmed salmon (150grams) in 2016 will on average give1.8 grams of EPA and DHA. This coversthe weekly recommendation (EFSA) forhealth adults, and four days for pregnantwomen.

• Omega-6 fatty acids are also required tomaintain good health, but there are somany dietary sources of these fatty acidsthat we easily get enough. Salmon todaycontains considerably more omega-6fatty acids than before, and gives asmuch omega-6 fatty acids as omega-3fatty acids.

RecommendationsContent and health effects• It has been scientifically documented

that the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids(EPA and DHA) prevent cardiovasculardisease.

• EPA and DHA are important fordeveloping the foetal central nervoussystem, including the brain.

• Research also shows that marine omega-3 fatty acids can be important inpreventing type 2 diabetes and obesity.

• Fatty acid composition of Norwegianfarmed salmon has changed significantlyin the past decade. This is primarily dueto the use of plant protein and vegetableoils in fish feed, at the expense offishmeal and fish oil.

• The content of EPA and DHA in fillets ofNorwegian farmed salmon hasdecreased from 27.4 mg/g to 11.5mg/g (a 58% reduction) between 2005and 2015, but this level have beenmore stable in the period 2011–2015.

• Farmed salmon is still one of our bestdietary sources of EPA and DHA, onlysurpassed by mackerel and herring fillets,in addition to cod liver oil and otherproducts made from fish liver. Lean fishand shellfish contain less EPA and DHAthan salmon, but considerably more thanchicken and pork. Farmed salmon todaycontains more than 20 times more EPAand DHA compared to chicken, redmeat and eggs.

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• Salmon need EPA and DHA in their feed.The feed’s composition of fatty acids isimportant for fish health and for thesalmon’s resistance to viruses, bacteriaand parasites.

• In 2014, the average level of EPA andDHA in commercial salmon feed inNorway was 23.2 g/kg of feed. Recentresearch shows that this level is sufficientto ensure good growth and survival, tomaintain the DHA status in importantorgans, and produce a robust fish thattolerates challenging fish farm conditionsin the sea

Fish health

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Photo: Eivind Se

nneset and

Helge

Skodv

in.