29 November 2007, 21:02 PM

  • A new survey by Efalex, the Omega-3 & 6 fish oil supplement, has show that for 70% of Brits, fish is firmly off the menu.

The survey of over 3,000 people revealed that 90% of the nation consider fish to be an important part of their diet, but only 30% actually eat the Government recommended intake.

Despite campaigns to communicate the health benefits of fish to consumers, the survey revealed that surprisingly almost 60% of the population aren’t aware of the amount of fish their family should be eating.

Astonishingly, two thirds of parents claim they have to disguise fish when feeding it to their children, most commonly by covering it in breadcrumbs (28%), serving it with unhealthy chips (23%), or a sauce (17%). But worryingly, one in four children still aren’t getting the Government recommended two portions of fish a week.

And the survey suggested that the population’s culinary skills may be partly to blame.  People are unsure how to prepare fish dishes from scratch and over 40% of people don’t know how to prepare fish or seafood, which is affecting their intake. Almost half of those questioned (48%) said that they would eat more fish if they knew how to cook it.

The cost of fish was also cited as a reason Britons don’t eat more fish, with 44% saying it was too expensive. Respondents were also put off eating fish because of the bones (24%) and the smell (19%).

Nutritionist, Fiona Hunter, explains, “It is concerning that four in five people don’t eat
enough oily fish as adequate intake of Omega-3 fatty acids is vital. They cannot be produced in the body, which means that they must be obtained from Omega-rich food, such as oily fish including salmon and tuna.”