So why does tilapia have such a bad reputation?
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Much of the discussion actually has less to do with the species itself and more to do with how the fish is raised, where it comes from and how it is handled.
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Unlike some wild-caught fish, a large proportion of tilapia sold around the world comes from aquaculture.
Aquaculture simply means farming aquatic animals for food.
Fish are raised in controlled environments such as ponds, tanks or cages.
The FDA identifies tilapia as one of the common food fish produced through aquaculture.
This
is where one of the biggest misconceptions about tilapia begins.
People sometimes assume that “farmed” automatically means “unsafe.”
It doesn’t.
Farmed fish can be produced under regulated conditions, and the FDA states that both domestic and imported aquacultured seafood are subject to food-safety requirements.
However, aquaculture does create potential food-safety issues that have to be controlled.
