Just how much fat?

What's healthier?

A portion of Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon, or a Big Mac and fries?

You be the judge.

In 2021 NOFF showed that Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon is not as healthy as the industry claims: there are more "bad" fats in a 200g portion of farmed salmon than a Big Mac and Fries

In the interests of transparency, NOFF provides the raw data from independent salmon flesh testing.

Eurofins Report

Salmon flesh testing for fat content was conducted in October 2021. The testing was done independently and objectively, funded privately through NOFF.

  • Salmon portion samples from Tassal, Huon Aquaculture and Petuna were sourced from major retail outlets in Melbourne.
  • A careful record of methodology and chain of custody was kept.
Chain of Custody
  • "Blind" flesh testing was carried out by Eurofins, a specialist measuring laboratory with impeccable credentials.
  • The data was analysed by a qualified scientist with experience in food chemistry and data analysis.
  • That data was then compared with publicly available data from McDonalds, available on their Nutrition page.

The results were reported in The Guardian Australia and The Australian (15 December 2021, paywalled).

See graphs comparing the % by weight of farmed salmon compared with Big Macs, other fast foods, and other types of fish and meat products:

All graphs - fat % by weight

These graphs compare percent by weight of salmon compared with other products. To compare 200g of salmon with a standard Big Mac and a medium serve of fries, the calculations are:

  • A Big Mac is 233g. Based on McDonald's stated percentage of fat per 100g (see below), this contains 31.3g of fat.
  • A medium serve of fries is 104g. Based on McDonald's stated percentage of fat per 100g, this contains 15g of fat.
  • Total fat for a Big Mac and fries: 46.3g
  • Huon's results for 200g of salmon were 48.4 and 47.4, average: 47.9g
  • Tassal's results for 200g of salmon were 42.4 and 57.0, average: 49.7g

(Petuna was less, NZ salmon more)

McDonalds updates their nutritional information regularly. Here it is April 2023 when this webpage was originally prepared:

Macdonalds fat content April 2023