Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

Farmed salmon from Chile has a complicated history of both environmental and food-safety problems. As recently as July, the FDA banned salmon imports from one major Chilean producer because it reportedly contained carcinogens. But not all Chilean salmon is bad news: The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program — a watchdog of environmental practices in the seafood industry — approved the first farmed salmon from Chile (Verlasso brand) for its stringent “good alternative” list only a couple of months ago. The FDA is less concerned with environmental friendliness of food imports than with its safety, but Monterey Bay giving that Chilean seafood a thumbs-up means it is more likely to be safe.

CHOOSE INSTEAD: Verlasso Chilean salmon is likely safe, or choose farmed or wild domestic salmon. More info here.