How Safe Is Salmon?

Salmon steaks are great sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), salmon can also contain dangerous doses of cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), especially if the fish comes from your local grocery store.

EWG found that store-bought salmon, most of which is farmed, contained 16 times the PCB levels of salmon caught in the wild. The Environmental Protection Agency considers these levels a health hazard, and if they were found in wild salmon would recommend eating the fish no more than once a month. The Food and Drug Administration, the agency responsible for fish sold in stores, says these PCB levels are safe — for now. But it is investigating the primary source of the contaminant: the ground fish meal that farmed salmon eat.