Ministerial knowledge of steroid contamination of Scottish salmon: EIR release

Information requested

You asked for ‘any information relating to Ministerial knowledge of steroid contamination of Scottish salmon’ and cited responses to previous requests on the subject matter handled by both Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland.

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because the subject area of steroid contamination is not the regulatory responsibility of the Scottish Government.

This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about steroid contamination of Scottish Salmon, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

The Scottish Government has handled a number of recent requests relating to this subject area, releasing information where relevant and required, and providing context to the same. We hold no further information around the subject of steroids and Scottish salmon.

Previous responses

Previous responses to requests are summarised as follows:

• EIR 202500456630 – Concerning Scottish salmon health and export issues since 1 January 2022. The response released extracted information relating to the detection of Beta nandrolone in exported farmed fishery products (Atlantic salmon) confirming that through the follow up investigations undertaken no non-compliance was found at the business concerned.
• EIR 202500461393 – Concerning information on steroids in Scottish and Irish salmon since January 2024. The response confirmed that no information was held beyond email communications relating to the Beta Nandrolone situation detailed above. This release of information relating to Beta Nandrolone was handled through a separate request – 202500462301 which was received around the same time as handling this request.
• EIR 202500462301 – With reference to the response issued to 202500456630, the request asked for all documents relating to the detection of Steroid Beta nandrolone at Bakkafrost. The email communications and associated documentation was released subject to the redaction of personal information in accordance with the exception at regulation 11(2) of the EIRs.
• EIR 202500465789 – As a follow up to 202500461393, the request asked for information supporting the statement relating to follow up investigations and no non-compliance was found. The response confirmed that this information was not held (as the regulatory responsibility lies out with Scottish Government). The response released an email communication with Food Standards Scotland (FSS), confirming the significance of the Beta nandrolone finding and which was developed to support the context for handling requests 202500456630 and 202500461393.

Context and further information

We have previously provided context and further information to the situation relating to the detection of Beta nandrolone within exported Atlantic salmon products.

As explained in earlier responses, the regulatory responsibility concerning steroid use in aquaculture animals falls out with the Scottish Government. We have referred to both the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and FSS who may hold further information on the subject area. We have explained, through communication with FSS, and to provide context to the situation, that follow up investigations were undertaken which revealed no non-compliance associated with the detection of Beta nandrolone and business concerned.

The presence of Beta nandolone within the Atlantic salmon products, does not necessarily suggest use of that product by the aquaculture industry within Scotland. Information provided through EIR 202500462301 included speculation that the positive result may have been a consequence of cross contamination although it isn’t possible to confirm that in this case.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.