The New York Times today printed a correction regarding its March 27 article about infectious salmon anemia (ISA) and the environmental and food-safety impacts of Chile's farmed salmon industry.
In the article, Salmon Virus Indicts Chile's Fishing Methods, the Times quoted an official at the port of Castro, Chile, who described bags of fish food stored at a facility owned by Marine Harvest, a Norwegian conglomerate, as containing antibiotics, pigments and hormones.
The official, Adolfo Flores, identified himself as the port director, but he in fact worked as a security guard, the newspaper subsequently learned.
"Had the Times been aware of his actual position at the time, it would not have cited him as an authority on the contents of the bags, which were labeled medicated food," the correction states. "The article also should have noted that Marine Harvest and SalmonChile, an industry association, deny that they use hormones or that the pigments they use pose any risk to consumers."
ISA has ravaged Chile's salmon farms, killing millions of salmon destined for export to Japan, Europe and the United States.
Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., told the Times, "All these problems are related to an underlying lack of sanitary controls. Parasitic infections, viral infections, fungal infections are all disseminated when the fish are stressed and the centers are too close together."
Salmon of the Americas, an association of U.S., Canadian and Chilean farmed salmon companies, says any administration of antibiotics is done under supervision of certified veterinarians and complies with governmental regulations, a process similar to what the cattle, pork and the poultry industries employ.
