Scientific Advisor asks ‘Were funders hoodwinked?’

“Were the Pew Charitable Trust hoodwinked into believing they were funding new, ground-breaking work?” questioned independent scientific advisor Dr John Webster at the fifth Biennial Conference on Fish Processing in Grimsby yesterday.

In his presentation titled ‘Salmon Quality & Safety; Real & Perceived’, Dr Webster rejected the two published papers that have been sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust (PCT) this year.

“There are a series of flaws in the work funded by the PCT. The research methodology is regarded as scientifically flawed by the World Health Organisation and food safety agencies worldwide. And the research completely ignored the considerable body of data on environmental contaminants in foods, including salmon, in the public domain already,” he noted.

Dr Webster explained that campaigners who use the media to further their own causes have challenged the reputation of Scottish farmed salmon.

“Many of the attacks on the industry have been carried out by anti-fish farming campaigners who have used the media to magnify a story out of all proportion and spread it around,” he added.

Speaking to some of the leading directors, managers and buyers of fish processing companies in the UK, Dr John Webster also explained that Scottish Quality Salmon’s quality assurance schemes set higher standards than EC and UK law.

“Scottish Quality Salmon is the lead organisation for the Scottish salmon farming industry, with member companies operating over and above EC and UK law.

“It is mandatory for members of Scottish Quality Salmon to operate in accordance with the requirements of a series of EN45011 Product Certification Schemes inspected by an independent UKAS accredited certification body, to operate in accordance with industry Codes of Best
Practice and Environmental Management Systems," he added.

Dr Webster also outlined details of the global salmon farming industry, salmon farming in Scotland and SACN/CoT’s ‘Advice on fish consumption; benefits and risks’ in his 30-minute presentation.

Notes to Editors:

1. Scottish Quality Salmon is dedicated to improving the quality and sustainability of salmon farming in Scotland - from feed companies through to salmon smokers and processors - the whole production chain. Membership now represents 65% of the tonnage produced by the Scottish salmon farming industry.

2. Dr John Webster, Webster Rae, is an independent scientific advisor to Scottish Quality Salmon.

END 17th September 2004

For further information contact either:
Dr John Webster, Webster Rae / Scottish Quality Salmon, +44 (0)1738 587000
Julie Edgar, Communications Director, Scottish Quality Salmon,
+44 (0)1738 587000 or 07899 875151
Ken Hughes, Communications Executive, Scottish Quality Salmon,
+44 (0)1738 587000 or 07974 173739

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