Fat Lady calls Naked Chef 'whore' over Sainsbury's salmon

Clarissa Dickson Wright accuses Jamie Oliver of 'selling his soul' over his endorsement of controversial salmon farm

Described as fake, a bit slimy and not very good for you, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was yesterday forced to defend the reputation of the smoked salmon he is promoting this Christmas.

Oliver, already reeling from complaints about his London restaurant, is now under assault from environmentalists, who claim Sainsbury's smoked salmon comes from fish farms that damage the environment.

It is a celebrity-charged quarrel over the quality of the food we eat. It is a row over whether intensive fish farming is ruining Britain's sensitive marine environment and whether, as some campaigners claim, retailers are putting profits before safety.

Today Oliver's opponents are to picket the restaurant, Fifteen, in a campaign backed by another TV chef, Clarissa Dickson Wright, who says her rival has "sold his soul" to the supermarket giant and become a culinary "whore".

Oliver, the "face" of Sainsbury's, features prominently in its current television campaign, which shows him visiting a salmon farm in Inverness-shire.

But the environmentalists say the fish comes from a farm which has been criticised by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). They also claim the fish is not good enough to be put on the restaurant menu.

"Jamie Oliver is supporting what is probably a defective farm and he is supporting a product which he doesn't eat," said Ms Dickson Wright.

"I think he's a whore. Isn't that what whores do, take money for something they wouldn't do otherwise. Jamie has just sold his soul carte blanche to Sainsbury's and turns up wherever they want him. It makes me very sad because he sold his talents."

A spokesperson for the SEPA confirmed it is discussing a programme of "remedial action" with Marine Harvest, the owners of the farm.

Brian Sandison, chairman of the Salmon Farm Protest Group co-ordinating the campaign, said: "To try and hold this company up as a wonderful example of excellence in environmental probity and producing high-quality salmon is complete and utter rubbish - and that is what has outraged so many of our supporters."

The row has even spread on to Oliver's website forum. Several contributors have railed against his support for farmed salmon in recent days. Pete Begg, Fifteen's executive chef, also weighed in, admitting that farmed fish was not used in the restaurant but claimed Sainsbury's products were better than most.

"We thought this was a better product and a step in the right direction, and that's why he went with it," he said.

US scientists warned in January that eating too much Scottish farmed salmon could pose a cancer risk. Researchers at State University of New York claimed that chemical levels found in the fish were so high that people should eat no more than two ounces a month.

Following the publication of the research, in the American journal Science, several Scottish fish farms closed down and the price of farmed salmon slumped. Some farmers cried foul, claiming there was a link between the researchers and an environmental campaigning agency.

The report was given short shrift by retailers and the Food Standards Agency, who claimed it was based on poor science. But the farmed salmon industry was also hit by news that the European Commission were threatening to ban sales of Scottish salmon because of contamination.

The Scottish salmon industry is estimated to be worth £700m a year and sales have risen significantly from 600 tonnes a year in 1980 to 140,000 in 2001. The Food Standards Agency's current advice stresses that the benefits of eating salmon in moderation outweigh any risks.

FISH FACTS

Standard supermarket smoked salmon

£1.33 per 100g from Asda; £1.50 from Sainsbury's

What it is: It's the cheapest smoked salmon available in supermarkets. The fish is actually reared on salmon farms.

What environmentalists claim: Overcrowding in fish farms may lead to localised pollution from salmon droppings. They claim that the farms use toxic chemicals to prevent seaweed from clinging to the net.

Quality supermarket smoked salmon

£1.99 per 100g from Asda; £3.20 from Tesco

What it is: This is a higher-quality salmon and much less fatty than the cheaper versions.

What environmentalists claim: It's better than cheaper salmon but there are concerns. They tend to be in sites free from parasites and are often grown in cleaner, faster-flowing water. But there are fears that sea lice from farm fish may infect wild fish.

Organic smoked salmon

£3.56 per 100g from Waitrose; £3.99 from Sainsbury's

What it is: The salmon are fed only organically approved food.

What environmentalists claim: Fish cages have more space than conventional salmon farms, in waters selected as freer from parasites and disease.