Question 1

Why is farmed salmon pink?

Accepted Answer

Farmed salmon is pink because astaxanthin, a red pigment, is added to its feed. Without it the flesh would grow pale grey, since penned salmon do not eat the krill and plankton that color wild fish naturally.

Question 2

Is the color added to salmon safe to eat?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The astaxanthin added to salmon feed is an approved additive considered safe, and it is chemically near-identical to the pigment wild salmon obtain naturally from their diet. It is deposited in muscle through feeding, not painted onto the fillet.

Question 3

What does the color added label on salmon mean?

Accepted Answer

It means the fish's pink shade came from pigment added to its feed rather than from a wild diet. The label appeared after 2003 lawsuits in Seattle forced retailers to disclose that farmed salmon color was added. It is a disclosure, not a warning.

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The Color of Salmon Comes From a Catalog