Organic salmon was not source of contamination
Yes, traces of malachite green were found in a sample of Irish organic salmon taken from a British supermarket. However, the explanation discovered by the Veterinary Medical Directorate (a branch of the British Departmetn for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), and made public in an article in the Sunday Times on June 5, identified clearly that the source of contamination was not associated with the salmon at all.
The malachite green came from paper towels containing the carcinogen that were used by workers repackaging the fish for sale in the British supermarket. in Morrisons Newcastle.
From the first, the Irish producers of the certified organic salmon were clear there was no possible source for such contamination during the rearing and harvesting of the fish, and their confidence was clearly justified.
My family runs a tiny micro-enterprise in rural west Cork involved in the smoking of organic salmon and have incurred considerable cost in order to be awarded organic certification for our processing operation.
We have traditionally smoked wild salmon but, as anyone with an interest in the 'king of fish' will know, the pressures on these stocks are now becoming too great to be sustainable.
We moved into smoking organic salmon because our research gave us confidence that these were the healthiest of farmed stocks, produced in the most environmentally benign way possible, and we were aware of the regulatory and testing procedures applied to ensure that.
All of us involved in the certified organic sector are hugely concerned about every aspect of the quality of our products after all, we consume them ourselves! Dr O'Sullivan's diatribe in relation to the production methods for organic farmed salmon is wrong.
Consumers are right to be watchful about the origins and production processes involved in all their food, but they should also be entitled to accurate information. We very much hope that the organic fish farmers will also respond in more detail to clarify just how their fish are reared.
In the meantime, I would suggest that if Dr O'Sullivan sees any more flying pigs, he should make an urgent appointment with his optician.
Anthony Creswell
Ummera Smoked
Products Ltd
Timoleague
Co Cork
