Why your salmon is likely dyed to reach a specific shade of pink

Food & Drink · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Salmon is prized for its vibrant hue, but that signature color is often a carefully managed industrial target. While wild fish derive their pigment from a diet of shellfish, farmed salmon rely on added carotenoids to meet specific color standards. Understanding the science behind the flesh reveals a complex food system.

The iconic orange-to-red flesh of salmon is a result of carotenoid pigments, specifically astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. In the wild, salmon acquire these compounds by consuming krill and other tiny shellfish. These pigments are not merely aesthetic; they are a hallmark of the fish's natural diet. However, in the world of commercial aquaculture, color is a controlled variable. Producers aim for a specific target on the Roche Colour Card, a standardized scale used to measure the intensity of the pink hue derived from astaxanthin.

To ensure consistency, fish farmers add pigments to the salmon's diet. This process has become increasingly complex due to modern storage and processing techniques, which can degrade the concentration of these pigments in the flesh. To compensate for this loss, producers must increase the quantity of additives in the feed. While wild salmon can contain up to 25 mg of carotenoids, farmed fish are managed to hit a specific value of 16 on the Roche scale. This industrial precision ensures that the product meets consumer expectations for what a healthy, high-quality salmon should look like on the plate.

Beyond color, the nutritional profile of salmon is significant, offering a rich source of protein, selenium, copper, and B vitamins like B12. It is also an oily fish packed with omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA and EPA. While farmed and wild salmon are similar in safety and quality, they do differ: farmed varieties often contain fewer environmental contaminants, whereas wild-caught fish typically boast higher levels of omega-3s. Regardless of origin, the fish remains a staple of global diets, though it is not without risks, such as potential allergens or the presence of parasites like Anisakis nematodes in raw flesh, which historically limited the use of salmon in dishes like sushi until the late 1980s.

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