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Balancing between benefits and risks. Baltic fish species as a food resource

Balancing between benefits and risks. Baltic fish species as a food resource. Jouni Tuomisto National Public Health Institute (KTL) Kuopio, Finland. Critical questions about benefits and risks of fish. Fish is healthy, but how healthy is it actually?

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Balancing between benefits and risks. Baltic fish species as a food resource

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  1. Balancing between benefits and risks. Baltic fish species as a food resource Jouni Tuomisto National Public Health Institute (KTL) Kuopio, Finland

  2. Critical questions about benefits and risks of fish • Fish is healthy, but how healthy is it actually? • What are the major health risks related to fish? • What are the specific issues in the Baltic region? • Should there be specific recommendations due to health impacts? • How is health related to marine sustainability?

  3. Mozaffarian & Rimm, JAMA. 2006;296:1885-1899

  4. Mozaffarian & Rimm, JAMA. 2006;296:1885-1899

  5. Hites (2004): Farmed salmon is more polluted Hites et al., Science 2004

  6. Dioxin concentrations in farmed and wild salmon

  7. Farmed salmon: Two different decisions

  8. What is the right health metric?

  9. Table 3: Annual health loss (in DALYs) due to dietary factors and energy balance, against other lifestyle factors, environmental factors and disease categories in the Netherlands. (Source: RIVM 2004)

  10. 'Evidence lost' Dariush Mozaffarian, lead author of the study said: "Overall, for major health outcomes among adults, the benefits of eating fish greatly outweigh the risks. "Somehow this evidence has been lost on the public." Source: BBC News, 17.10.2006 By the author of a large fish health review (Mozaffarian & Rimm, JAMA. 2006;296:1885-1899)

  11. Benefits and risks of eating Baltic fish • Health benefits of eating fish are clear • The average population should eat more fish, at least twice a week • A variety of fish species should be used • Even if the Baltic Sea is polluted with dioxins and PCBs, the health benefits are 10-100 times higher than risks • Special groups should be aware of certain risks (pregnant and nursing women, high (local) methyl mercury levels in some species)

  12. Health, fish, and sustainability • Fisheries are deteriorating due to overharvesting (Worm et al: Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services. Science Nov 3 2006: 787-790) • Why don't we simply use farmed fish? • Fish eat fish: farming is only improvement of marine resources for human use • Lack of suitable terrestrial fish feed sources • If feed is low with omega-3, also the fish will be • Marine food resources are NOT easily replaced • The sustainability of seas is also an important health issue

  13. Table 3: Annual health loss (in DALYs) due to dietary factors and energy balance, against other lifestyle factors, environmental factors and disease categories in the Netherlands.

  14. Value of information for feed contaminant restrictions Tuomisto et al., Science 2004

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