The Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) is “stunned” that the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency failed to include shellfish in its eat-fish-twice-a-week advice, issued on Thursday.
The agency acknowledged that shellfish is low in fat and a good source of selenium, zinc, iodine and copper, and that mussels, oysters, squid and crab are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. But it left out shellfish when it urged consumers to eat at least two portions of fish a week, one of which should be an oily fish.
Additionally, the agency for the first time asked consumers to purchase seafood harvested or farmed in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner and to look for eco-labels when buying fish.
“Quite simply all seafood must be included if sustainability is to be factored in consumption advice,” said SAGB Director Tom Pickerell on Friday. “By including shellfish in their ‘two-a-week,’ concerns over sustainability can be reduced. At present, the agency is making calculations on UK consumption increases only using two-thirds of the available seafood.”
Pickerell said shellfish supplies are robust, pointing out that 14 UK species appear on the Marine Conservation Society’s “Fish to Eat” list.
