Even the Daily Mail …

… which is not given to jumping up and down about green issues, was horrified to discover that pesticides, including DDT, had been found in farmed salmon on sale in five major British supermarkets. Figures released through a Freedom of Information Act request had disclosed the presence of Dieldrin, Cypermethrin and pp-DDE (a by-product of DDT) as well as other chemicals, in fish sold by Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Iceland.

DDT was banned for use almost 30 years ago because of its risk to human health. Dieldrin, a powerful pesticide linked to health problems such as Parkinson’s, breast cancer, and immune, reproductive, and nervous system damage, was banned in the1970s. A recently published study suggested a link between DDT and the high incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

The production process of salmon involves covering the fish in chemicals to kill parasitic lice. These chemicals accumulate in the fat of the fish. Inactive farmed salmon are far fattier than the wild fish and therefore more likely to carry chemical traces. Don Staniford, Director of the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture, said, ‘Farmed salmon is the most contaminated food on the supermarket shelf. It should carry a Government health warning.’