Saving Seafood

Nutrition

Report finds seafood mislabeling “rampant” in New York

December 18, 2018 — The New York Attorney General’s office may take enforcement action against some supermarket chains after it found “rampant” seafood mislabeling at grocers across the state, according to a recent report.

The report, from New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood, found that around a quarter of the seafood sampled at New York grocery retailers was mislabeled. These findings are the result of the first major U.S. government investigation of seafood fraud at supermarket chains.

The incidence of mislabeling popular species was “rampant” among New York retailers, the Underwood’s office said in statement. For example, 27.6 percent of species sold as “wild” salmon were mislabeled, oftentimes being substituted for farmed salmon.

A significant 67 percent of red snapper samples were mislabeled, the report found. Approximately 87.5 percent of lemon sole was also discovered to be mislabeled.

“The substitutes were often cheaper, less desirable, and less environmentally sustainable species,” the AG office statement said. “This includes farm-raised salmon sold as wild salmon, lane snapper sold as red snapper, and swai sold as lemon sole.”

Ray Hilborn, a professor of marine science at the University of Washington and a member of the International Fisheries Innovation Network steering committee, said the report showed the mislabeling was at times intentional and at times accidental.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Americans eating a lot more seafood, according to NFI’s new Top 10 list

December 14, 2018 — Americans ate over a pound more seafood per capita in 2017 than they did the year before, according to the latest figures shared in the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) annual list of the top 10 most consumed seafood species in the United States.

In 2017, Americans consumed 16 pounds of seafood per capita, an increase of 1.1 pounds from 2016 – a considerable hike, said NFI President John Connelly.

“More than a pound increase is substantial,” Connelly said in a prepared statement.

The pound-plus increase wasn’t the only eye-opening figure presented in this year’s list, either, Connelly noted. The new numbers suggest that seafood consumption in the United States may be diversifying beyond the usual suspects, he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Mislabeled seafood in the U.S.

December 7, 2018 — The 2018 Oceana Canada study was only the most recent of a series of similar studies published by Oceana (see my earlier piece here). In 2016, Oceana released a report that summarized and mapped seafood fraud from, “more than 200 published studies covering 55 different countries, on every continent except Antarctica, in order to reveal the global scope of seafood fraud.” Oceana found relevant studies by searching Google Scholar and Google News with relevant search terms. Further, legal cases involving seafood fraud in the United States were collected in NOAA Law Enforcement or Department of Justice press releases and archives. The final collection was displayed on this map.

In this post, I will attempt to contextualize Oceana’s findings in the US specifically. I aim to challenge the report title that this map study “reveal[ed] the global scale of seafood swapping”, and instead suggest that it provided an unrepresentative view of mislabeling in the context of actual seafood consumption trends in the U.S.

The vast majority of the studies collected by Oceana (>75%) were from Europe or the US and, “the bulk of the studies [were] conducted after 2005.” Globally, Oceana reported the weighted average mislabeling rate was 19%, but in the U.S., it was 28%. The most commonly mislabeled species in the US studies referenced were snapper, grouper, and salmon. Across all studies referenced (US and abroad) Oceana reported mislabeling in “all 200+ studies reviewed except one.”

Pins were placed on the world map to indicate the location of each mislabeling study collected for this report. The pins were color coded to indicate the extent of mislabeling, and to indicate if the study was an Oceana study or a study from another source like news media or peer reviewed literature. Dark red indicated studies showing mislabeling rates from 75%-100%; lighter red indicated mislabeling rates from 50%-75%; dark pink indicated rates from 25%-50%; light pink indicated rates from 0%-25%; a white pin with black pinstripes indicated a study featuring “other examples of fraud”; and a blue Oceana logo pin indicated an Oceana study.

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

Studies: Omega-3s temper premature births, heart attacks

November 21, 2018 — New research linking omega-3 fatty acids with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases as well as the reduction of dangerous premature births is expected to have benefits for the seafood industry.

In a study of people who took Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fish oil, researchers found that subjects were 28 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks than those taking a placebo. Additionally, people who ate fewer than 1.5 servings of fish weekly reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 19 percent when taking Lovaza.

The research was presented at the recent American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The use of fish oil did not significantly reduce risk for those eating more seafood, but the average overall showed a reduced risk,” Dr. Tom Brenna, a professor of pediatrics, chemistry, and nutrition at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, and chair of Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Scientific and Nutrition Advisory Council, told SeafoodSource. “The message here is, ‘If you don’t eat fish, take supplements.'”

Alongside the Lovaza study, a new Cochrane Review of 70 studies worldwide found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced dangerous preterm births by 42 percent.

The extensive review of published studies, which included 20,000 pregnant women, also revealed an 11 percent reduction in preterm births, and a 10 percent reduction in risk of having a low-birthweight baby. The researchers reviewed studies involving fish oil supplements as well as seafood.

“This study is further evidence that health professionals should be actively promoting fish and omega-3s among pregnant women as they have possibly the most to gain from eating more fish,” Jennifer McGuire, a registered dietitian for the National Fisheries Institute, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Eating fish can help fight childhood asthma, finds new study

November 19, 2018 — A clinical trial led by researchers from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia has found that eating seafood species high in good fats such as salmon, trout, and sardines as part of a healthy diet can reduce the symptoms of asthma in children.

National body Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) has welcomed the new study, calling it a potential easy and effective treatment for asthma sufferers.

“Childhood asthma is the most common respiratory disorder worldwide. We know these species of fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids which have anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to help in the reduction of symptoms for other inflammatory conditions like arthritis,” SIA CEO Jane Lovell said.“This new research shows that following a diet which is high in oily fish could be an easy, safe, and effective way to reduce the symptoms of asthma in children which is fantastic news.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Should You Keep Taking Those Fish Oil And Vitamin D Pills?

November 16, 2018 — Nearly 19 million Americans take fish oil supplements and some 37 percent of us take vitamin D. Many may be motivated by research that has suggested these pills can protect heart health and prevent cancer. On Saturday, NPR published a story on long-awaited research on both supplements that called those claims into question.

The findings of the trial, called VITAL, were complex. When researchers looked at cancer and overall cardiovascular events, they found no protective benefit from taking vitamin D or fish oil supplements. But when they looked only at heart attacks, they did find a benefit, especially for African-Americans and people who eat little fish. (Researchers say further study is needed to see whether those benefits hold up.)

The story prompted a wave of questions from our readers and listeners. Many of you wrote in asking, essentially, should I stop taking these supplements?

To get answers to some of your questions, we spoke with Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who headed the VITAL trial. We also turned to Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, senior scientist and director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University School of Medicine.

The findings of the VITAL study cast doubt on benefits of fish oil for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Should people just throw out their pills?

JoAnn Manson: No. For those already taking supplements, our findings do not offer a clear reason to stop. If you want to consider starting, our recommendation is to talk with your health care provider, but this does not need to be done on an urgent basis. We do caution against taking very high doses, but at the level fish oil [was taken] in our study there were no significant adverse effects. In addition, while fish oil did not reduce the risk of stroke or other cardiovascular problems, it did reduce the risk of heart attack by 28 percent and that is a significant finding.

Previous research suggests fish oil may have greater benefits for heart health than for reducing stroke, because there are some mechanisms — such as reducing irregular heart rhythm — which would be more important for heart attack than for stroke.

Read the full story at NPR

Fish-oil drugs protect heart health, two studies say

November 12, 2018 — Two major studies released Saturday provide evidence that medications derived from fish oil are effective in protecting people from fatal heart attacks, strokes and other forms of cardiovascular disease.

The large, multiyear research efforts tested different formulations and quantities of drugs made with Omega-3 fatty acids on two groups of people: one that suffered from cardiovascular disease or diabetes and another that represented the general population. Both studies found that people who took the drugs every day enjoyed protection against some heart and circulatory problems compared with those given a placebo.

In a look at another commonly consumed supplement, vitamin D, researchers found no effect on heart disease but saw a link to a decline in cancer deaths over time.

The research was released Saturday at the American Heart Association’s 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 43 million people in the United States take statins to lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, and the drugs are credited with reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. But heart disease remains the leading killer of Americans. In recent years, a long, steady decrease in heart disease deaths has slowed. So researchers are seeking other ways to combat cardiovascular disease beyond known protective factors such as changes in diet, exercise and smoking habits.

One of the studies unveiled Saturday, named by the acronym REDUCE-IT, determined that people with cardiovascular disease who were already taking statins stood less chance of serious heart issues when they were also given two grams of the drug Vascepa (icosapent ethyl) twice a day.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Study: Eco-labeling encourages sales of all kinds of seafood, not just sustainable products

November 1, 2018 — Shoppers will buy larger quantities of seafood – both sustainably certified and non-certified – when given information about eco-labels, new research has found.

Using previous surveys that had evidenced that price and taste matter most to people when they buy seafood, and also that shoppers have a tendency to buy the same products as friends and family members, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) decided to test what would happen if store customers were told that lots of other shoppers bought Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) labeled seafood.

Isabel Richter’s doctorate in environmental psychology at NTNU explored how people could be motivated to eat more sustainable seafood. She was granted permission to carry out an experiment in grocery stores in Norway and Germany.

Richter started by first putting up a sign with information about the MSC label on the seafood cooler. The cooler included salmon and cod both with and without the MSC label, with similar prices and weight.

In the next trials, she put up eight different signs with an image and label information – plus some wording telling shoppers that a percentage of the customers who shopped at that particular store chose to buy seafood with the MSC label.

Four of the signs said that more than 50 percent of the customers in the store selected eco-labeled products, while the other four signs said that less than 50 percent of customers did this.

In the Norwegian stores, about 70 percent of the products were not labeled. In Germany, the MSC eco-label is more widespread so several products included it.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Nutrition researcher: The human diet needs more shellfish

October 29, 2018 — Numerous studies have shown that eating seafood is good for human health, but Professor Baukje de Roos, deputy director of the Rowett Institute at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen and an internationally recognized nutrition scientist, believes that shellfish are some of the most important contributors of essential nutrients and should be given a great place in the diet.

Professor de Roos, who is currently researching the effects of farmed seafood on heart health and micronutrient status, updated delegates at the recent Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference in Oban, Scotland, on the major health benefits of seafood and outlined the important involvement of shellfish.

Professor de Roos reminded her audience that omega-3 fatty acids help to protect against stroke and lower the risk of mortality from coronary heart disease, while vitamin D is essential for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones; and vitamin B12 is involved in the functioning of the nervous system, the formation of red blood cells, and in energy production.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Omega 3 fatty acids found in seafood tied to healthy aging

October 24, 2018 — People may be more likely to age without health problems when they have more omega 3 fatty acids in their blood, a recent study suggests.

The study authors focused on so-called healthy aging, or the number of years people live without developing disabilities or physical or mental health problems. They examined data on 2,622 adults who were 74 years old on average, following them from 1992 to 2015. Only 11 percent of participants experienced healthy aging throughout the entire study period.

“We found that older adults who had higher levels of omega 3 from seafood were more likely to live longer and healthier lives,” said lead study author Heidi Lai of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

“These findings support current national dietary guidelines to consume more seafood,” Lai said by email.

Adults should get about eight ounces a week of seafood, ideally by eating it twice a week in place of meats, poultry or eggs, according to U.S. dietary guidelines. Some options that are high in omega 3s include salmon, anchovies, herring, shad, sardines, oysters, trout and Atlantic or Pacific mackerel.

Read the full story at Reuters