Steroids were found in a consignment of salmon arriving into France from the UK, according to a notification from the European Commission’s food and feed alert system.

Used in some countries to boost salmon growth, steroids are, according to agriculture specialist Mark Borthwick, prohibited for use in fish farming in the UK, as they pose “significant risks to fish welfare and human health”.  

The alert was obtained through a freedom of information request to the Food Standards Agency by Scottish Salmon Watch. It is unknown how the consignment became contaminated last year, how big it was, or which salmon farm or company it came from. Animal welfare campaigner, Abigail Penny, described the presence of steroid as “worrying”.

In the September 2024 notification from the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, the contamination was described as “anabolic-androgenic steroids” and the risk decision was rated “serious”. The RASFF was set up to "support swift reaction by food safety authorities in case of risks to public health". It does not, however, reveal "commercial details such as brands and business operators".

France is the biggest export market for Scottish salmon with sales worth £462 million accounting for 62% of all Scottish salmon exports, according to Salmon Scotland.
Mark Borthwick, an innovative agriculture specialist and doctoral fellow focusing on on-farm behaviour change in salmon farming, said:  “The regulatory framework governing anabolic steroids in Scottish salmon aquaculture establishes a clear prohibition against their use.”

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“This prohibition operates through multiple regulatory mechanisms, including EU-derived legislation, UK statutory instruments,  Scotland-specific provisions, and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, all of which have failed. There are no legal reasons for these drugs to be on a salmon farm. The presence of steroids in this salmon is either an extremely severe contamination, or a premeditated criminal act, both of which should trigger a public investigation and potentially the removal of the farm’s license to operate.”

Borthwick was formerly head of research at the Aquatic Life Institute, and has contributed to fish welfare legislation in a number of policy environments, including the UK APPG for Animal Welfare, Holyrood, the Biden Administration, Global GAP, and the European Commission.

Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, said the presence of steroids in fish destined for export was worrying, adding: "This latest revelation follows a string of recent controversies: mass mortalities on farms, sea lice infestations, and cruel slaughter practices.”

A paper, titled 'Steroid hormones in fish, caution for present and future: A review' and published last year in Toxicology Reports described “the misuse and overuse of steroid hormones in fish” as “an emerging problem worldwide”. 

The review noted: “Steroid hormones were frequently used in fish production to promote growth and reproduction... The most commonly used steroid hormones in fish production were testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol.” 

Steroid use is prohibited in UK salmon farmingSteroid use is prohibited in UK salmon farming (Image: Gregor Moser on Unsplash) "The indiscriminate use of steroid hormones in fish," it noted, "followed by residue in fish and fish products above the ADI [acceptable daily intake] level, might cause human health issues”. 

Possible listed effects included “early puberty in children, advances in bone age, negative repercussions on growth, modification of sexual characteristics, and cancer development such as breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer.”

It concluded: "Farmers employ steroid hormones in fish production to promote artificial reproduction and sexual conversion to meet the rising demand and make a decent profit. Finally, this uncontrolled hormone enters the environment and human food chain, causing irreversible damage to the aquatic environment and human body, including the reproductive, immunological, and cardiovascular systems, if they exceed the permissible limits. However, the authorities should take proper steps to reduce the effect of such unregulated use of steroid hormones."
 
The use of hormones in animal and fish production is regulated by regional and national laws. For instance, the usage of natural steroids like testosterone, progesterone, and 17β-estradiol has been permitted in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina.

In the UK, however, it is illegal to use hormones or steroids to promote growth in any farm animal - raising the question of how the salmon were contaminated.

Some salmon farm companies in Scotland also emphasise that they are steroid-free. Bakkafrost, for instance, advertises that its Havsbrun feed is steroid and hormone free. 

Steroids, however, are not the only reason for the rejection of salmon exports to France. Another recent FOI to the Animal & Plant Health Agency, requesting information on rejected consignments of Scottish salmon from January 2022, revealed that four had been rejected by France, the chief reason being mislabelling.

Don Staniford, Director of Scottish Salmon Watch, declared: "Steroid contamination could well be the last nail in the coffin of Scottish salmon exports to France.”

A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland said: “No steroids are used in the production of farm-raised Scottish salmon. This was an erroneous result, most likely caused by contamination of the sample taken for analysis. Negative test results for samples taken before and after this erroneous result support this position. A full investigation was undertaken by Food Standards Scotland, with a report to the European Commission. This investigation did not find any evidence of the use of steroids and concluded that the most likely reason for the failed test was sample contamination."