WWF’s fish guide advises to prefer rainbow salmon to Norwegian salmon.
Rainbow salmon is the most important fish species farmed in Finland. Adobe Stock/AOP
Fazer coffee shops will give up the use of Norwegian salmon and switch to domestic rainbow salmon in their fish products. The change is part of Fazer’s goal to switch to using only fish and shellfish from WWF’s green list by the end of this year.
In Fazer Cafés, salmon soup and salmon bread will therefore be made from rainbow salmon in the future, but what makes rainbow salmon a better alternative than Norwegian salmon? Let’s open up WWF’s Fish Guide and let’s investigate the matter in more detail.
The fish guide helps consumers make good fish choices in everyday life by dividing fish species into three different colors. Green-marked fish species are the best choice, yellow-marked fish species should be bought carefully and red-marked fish species should be avoided completely.
The Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Swiss rainbow trout have received a green mark in the fish guide. Those grown in other parts of Europe should only be bought carefully and the Chilean ones should be avoided completely.
According to the guide, Finnish rainbow trout is an excellent choice for the dinner table, as its breeding is governed by strict environmental legislation and a permit system. The environmental impact of rainbow trout farming has been significantly reduced: the environmental load has decreased to just under a third since the beginning of the 1990s.
Rainbow trout originally came to Finland from North America and does not reproduce in Finnish waters. Therefore, runaways do not pose a great risk.
Fazer cafes’ creamy salmon soup will be made from rainbow salmon in the future. Only the type of fish changes, the rest of the recipe remains the same as before. Fazer
Norwegian salmon with consideration
Along with rainbow trout, Finns love Norwegian salmon, which is marked yellow in WWF’s fish guide. There are problems with Norwegian salmon farming: coastal salmon farms can spread diseases and parasites to wild fish, and escaped individuals can breed with wild salmon, weakening the wild fish population.
Salmon farming also causes nutrient loading to water bodies.
For Norwegian salmon, ASC and organically labeled salmon are the best options. Organic salmon eats ecologically produced feed, it also has more space to swim in breeding ponds, and its meat does not contain additives or artificial colorings.
The ASC certificate requires that farming passes strict criteria to ensure ecologically and socially sustainable production in large-scale salmon farming.
Salmon grown in Chile should be avoided completely.
Starting to feel like a good fish dish? Try Tuscan-style salmon or sweet and mustardy sugar salmon, or watch the video on how delicious Igor’s fish is made.