Are farmed salmon colored artificially?
A. The orange to red colour of wild or farmed salmon is caused by the presence of carotenoid pigments. Carotenoid pigments are important in salmon and human nutrition, since they are important antioxidants. Wild salmon eat krill, zooplankton, small fish and crustaceans which contain carotenoids. These natural coloring agents are absorbed by the salmon and they color the muscle of the fish as well as the eggs. In nature, there are many naturally occurring carotenoids for example in carrots. The type of carotenoids found in fish is known as xanthophylls and include astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Salmon are unable to synthesise these pigments, they must take them in as part of their diets. In farmed salmon the pigments may come from crustaceans, from yeast culture or from nature identical products – all are approved for addition to the diet of farmed salmon and of trout.
