The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has released findings from its 2023 monitoring program for farmed fish.
The tests which involved examining 1,815 samples for illegal drugs, legal drugs, and environmental toxins took samples from:
- 1,599 Atlantic salmon
- 138 rainbow trout
- 52 Atlantic cod
- 13 Atlantic halibut
- 9 turbot
- 4 spotted catfish
In total, 2,680 analyses were conducted.
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In positive news for the aquaculture industry, the results of the investigation revealed that no illegal drugs were found in the samples.
Additionally, no medicinal products were detected above the limit value, and no environmental toxins were present above the acceptable levels.
Two samples contained residues of drugs used against salmon lice, but these were below the limit value. Similarly, two samples showed residues of substances used both against salmon lice and as pesticides, likely originating from the fish feed, but these too were below the limit value. One sample contained residual testosterone, which was later determined to be due to contamination during the sampling process.
The findings confirm that the levels of drug residues and environmental toxins in Norwegian farmed fish are within safe limits.
