Skip to main content

Smoked salmon is on the menu at the Canadian Chefs’ Congress on Providence Farm in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Sept.11, 2010.The Globe and Mail

The question

Is smoked salmon healthy?

I know processed meat isn’t healthy. What about smoked salmon?

The answer

Smoked salmon is a good source of protein and vitamins, but has a lot of sodium

The good news: Smoked salmon has nutritional advantages and drawbacks. Like fresh salmon, it’s a good source of protein, B vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium and selenium. Smoked salmon also contains plenty of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), omega-3 fatty acids linked to a lower risk of heart disease, macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease.

The bad news: On the downside, smoked salmon delivers a hefty dose of sodium. Three ounces of smoked salmon, for example, contains 666 milligrams of sodium, more than one third of a day’s worth. The same serving size of cooked fresh salmon has 50 milligrams.

Before fish is smoked, it’s cured by adding salt in the form of a brine (a mixture of salt, water and spices) or salt crystals. Salting reduces the moisture content of fish, which helps extend its storage life. It also helps prevent the growth of microbes that could cause food poisoning.

Most smoked salmon is cold smoked, meaning it's smoked at a temperature that's not hot enough to cook the fish, nor hot enough to kill potentially harmful bacteria. One concern is Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause a rare but serious food poisoning especially among pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

What the research says about intermittent fasting and weight loss

Hot smoked salmon is smoked at temperatures around 80 C. It's fully cooked, lighter in colour and flakier than cold smoked salmon. Even though it's cooked, food safety issues can arise if improper food handling practices occur prior to, during or after the smoking process.

Because Listeria can survive, and sometimes grow, on foods stored in the refrigerator, people at high risk for Listeria food poisoning should avoid eating refrigerated smoked fish. Smoked fish is safe to eat, however, if it's fully cooked to an internal temperature of 74 C (165 F), such as in a pasta dish or casserole.

There's also concern that eating smoked foods can increase cancer risk. There is some evidence, albeit weak, that high intakes of smoked foods – in particular meat and fish – increase the risk of stomach cancer. Smoked fish contains nitrates and nitrites, byproducts of the smoking process. (Some brine solutions can also contain sodium nitrite.) The concern is that nitrites and nitrates can be converted in the body to N-nitroso compounds, which have been shown to cause stomach cancer in lab animals.

If you enjoy eating smoked salmon, buy it from a reliable manufacturer, consume it by the “use by” date, and keep it properly refrigerated. If you eat it frequently, balance your sodium intake and include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. A high intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with protection from stomach cancer.


7 salmon recipes (including a Jamie Oliver original)

  1. Salmon rice bowl: Take a more salad-like approach, cook the salmon, then top with cucumber, avocado and green onion and with some arugula.
  2. Salmon with rhubarb sauce and tarragon mayo: Try this Jamie Oliver recipe to make use of rhubarb’s amazing flavour spectrum in a sauce for this poach whole salmon.
  3. Dukkah salmon with lemon-chive yogurt: Dukkah (sometimes duqqa or dukka) is a unique mixture of nuts, seeds and spices. Try it with salmon, and serve with a bright, lemon yogurt sauce.
  4. Maple, lemon, and garlic glazed salmon: Cookbook author Monika Hibbs says the secret ingredient in this simple sheet-pan recipe is love.
  5. Spring Salmon Belly en Saor: Swap fatty wild spring salmon belly for sardines, and balance the richness of fish with the bright acidity of onions, and sweetness of raisins.
  6. Broccoli and boquerones salad with salmon caviar: Be sure to the cook broccoli properly for maximum flavour, and enjoy the roe in all its salty, oily and fishy delight.
  7. Salmon and leek quiche: A rich quiche, which gives a nod to chef Lee Cooper’s West Coast aboriginal heritage.

Leslie Beck is a registered dietitian in Toronto


Sign up for the weekly Health & Wellness newsletter for the latest news and advice.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe