Whether you’re looking to treat yourself to a breakfast garnished with smoked salmon, or planning to serve up pre-dinner appetizers of sliced smoked salmon atop crackers, buyer beware . . . 

When it comes to the claims made on smoked Atlantic salmon packages and websites, brands are often just blowing smoke.

Popular smoked Atlantic salmon brands entice consumers with promises like “premium,” “all natural,” “super fresh” and “healthy and nutritious.”

Some brands claim their products are “sustainably sourced.” On the issue of animal welfare, one owner of multiple smoked Atlantic salmon brands claims on its website that the company’s approach to fish health and welfare is “second to none.”

It all sounds great to the consumer. But here’s the real deal: All of these smoked Atlantic salmon products are made from salmon raised on massive industrial fish farms, and in some cases, nowhere near the Atlantic Ocean.

Here’s a wild idea: Unless the label on your smoked salmon includes the words “wild” or “wild caught,” (words you’ll find on Sockeye or King salmon, but never on packages of Atlantic salmon), there’s probably nothing “natural” or “sustainably sourced” about it.

We took a look at some popular brands of smoked Atlantic salmon, and the product claims made by the companies behind those brands. Health-conscious consumers, including those who also care about the environment and animal rights, may want to think twice about taking these claims at face value. 

Read ‘That ‘All-Natural’ Smoked Atlantic Salmon You Bought? It Came from an Industrial Fish Farm.’