It is clear that the fish that can be acquired or served from fishmongers, restaurants or hospitals have the backing of the authorities. Even so, some school canteens have chosen not to include them in their menus and there are supermarkets that have withdrawn certain species from their offer. Panga, tilapia or perch are some of the most famous fish. These are its main characteristics:
Panga
The panga ( Pangasius hypophthalmus ) is a freshwater white fish of Asian origin that grows to 1.5 meters and weighs more than 40 kilos. It is raised in fish farms and imported massively from Vietnam.
Its consumption is very attractive due to its low cost, mild flavor and presentation in fillets without skin or bones.
Some studies have detected higher levels of mercury in this fish than allowed.
Tilapia
The Oreochromis niloticus is a white freshwater fish that can measure 60 centimeters and weigh 4 kilos.
China is the main producer of farmed tilapia, with just over 42 percent of world production.
From this fish you can also extract fillets of good size and with few bones. Like pangasius, it has a high environmental impact and its nutritional value is low .
Nile Perch
The Nile perch (Lates niloticus) is native to Ethiopia and can reach 2 meters in length and 200 kilos in weight.
Fraud has been detected in some restaurants, which they pose as mere . Its appearance may be similar, but of course neither its taste, nor its nutritional properties, nor the environmental impact it generates.
In fact, this predator totally changed the ecosystem of African Lake Victoria when it was introduced for commercial reasons.
Sustainable food
Health authorities see no reason for alarm, but what do nutrition experts think? In general, they advise against frequent consumption of this type of fish, but they diverge in the reasons. Pascual Arce comments that there are “important reasons, fundamentally related to food sustainability , that should be taken into account when selecting one type of fish or another in our diet”.
For the expert, “one of the considerations included in the dietary guidelines for the Spanish population refers specifically to the importance of sustainability in the processes of obtaining, transporting and distributing food.”
In this sense, “the high environmental impact caused by the intensive production in the country of origin of some fish , such as pangasius, is a relevant argument when deciding their consumption.”
Roser Martí, dietitian-nutritionist and spokesperson for the College of Dietitians-Nutritionists of Catalonia (Codinucat) provides another argument: “Their consumption should be moderated, mainly because they contain higher amounts of heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, arsenic or lead) and other contaminants (like dioxins) than fish from our coasts. ”
Nutritional value, proximity and variety
For her part, Marián García, Doctor in Pharmacy, Professor of Nutrition at the Isabel I University and author of the Boticaria García blog , stresses the absence of health warnings, but considers that this type of fish “generally contains less amount of acids essential fats – like omega 3s – and a lower percentage of protein ”. For this reason, he believes that they should not “be the preferred option for school canteens, but there is no need to panic if we see them on the menu .”
Species such as hake, sole and other local fish would be more recommended, agrees Pascual Arce, for whom it is advisable to attend “mainly to criteria of culinary tradition and sustainability”.
In addition to the proximity criterion, favoring the consumption of products from the nearest rivers and coasts and, according to Martí, that they are “wild and artisanal”, a good tip is to bet on a varied intake “of the different species that are caught on our coasts, both white and blue fish ”. After all, the variety is one of the allies of a balanced diet and one of the strengths of the Mediterranean diet .
