Salmon is safe, says watchdog

People should keep eating farmed Scottish salmon, Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) said on Friday in reaction to a report that said the fish was full of harmful chemicals which could trigger cancer.

The report in the journal Science said farmed salmon is so full of toxins that it should only be eaten three times a year, with fish farmed in Scotland being the most contaminated.

But the British food watchdog said levels of pollutants in the fish are within safety levels.

"This study shows that the levels of dioxins and PCBs in salmon are within internationally recognised safety limits," said FSA Chairman Sir John Krebs.

The report said farmed salmon contained much higher levels of toxins than wild salmon, due to the feed given to the captive fish.

But the agency said it believed all salmon to be safe for consumption.

"This study does not raise any new safety concerns. This applies to all the salmon: farmed as well as wild, Scottish as well as imported," it said in a statement.

Oily fish, including salmon, is recommended by health experts because it contains high levels of Omega 3 oils which are believed to protect against heart attacks.

"We advise that the known benefits of eating one portion of oily fish outweigh any possible risks," Krebs said, adding that people should consume at least two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily.

"Last year we asked a group of experts to advise on the balance of risks and benefits of eating more than this regularly over a lifetime and they will report later this year," he added.

The FSA said that on average people in the UK eat one quarter of a portion of oily fish a week.