Land reared salmon tastes like…salmon
LAND reared farmed salmon has gone on sale in UK stores, after Atlantic Sapphire entered an agreement with Whole Foods Market UK.
The first consignments arrived at the Whole Foods Kensington, in London, in March, labelled ‘Atlantic Sapphire. Responsibly Farmed Salmon Fillet’, Intrafish reported.
The salmon is being supplied from Atlantic Sapphire’s Danish farm, Langsand Laks, and will be sold throughout Whole Foods Market’s seven UK stores, all of them in London.
It is the first time Atlantic Sapphire has sold salmon in a European country outside Denmark, with a ‘commitment from both parties that this is a long-term partnership for the UK’, Andreassen told Intrafish.
Atlantic Sapphire’s salmon is also sold to US retailers New Season Market on the west coast, Wegmans in the north east, and Blue Apron nationwide, as well as to the Canadian retailer Sobeys, in Quebec.
Fish Farmer columnist Martin Jaffa was one of the first UK customers to sample the RAS farmed salmon, which he reviewed in his Callander Mcdowell blog
‘Although the label on the fish counter states Atlantic Sapphire Responsibly Farmed Salmon, there is no mention that the fish comes from a land based closed containment facility,’ he wrote.
‘This is the only farmed salmon on the counter so shoppers have no idea that it is different to the salmon they might have bought last month. The label doesn’t even mention where the fish is farmed.
‘The label on the pack is even less informative: Salmon fillet- Approved Responsibly Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). Origin – Scotland, Norway, Iceland or Denmark.
‘And the taste? It tastes of salmon and why not? These are fish grown in seawater and therefore shouldn’t be different to fish grown in open water seawater.
‘It is only salmon that are grown in freshwater that are reported to sometimes have associated off-tastes.’