Why Your Salmon’s Color Might Be a Lie

The Truth About Farmed Salmon Colour

Wild salmon get their signature pinkish-orange hue from a natural diet rich in krill, shrimp, and other carotenoid-packed crustaceans. But farmed salmon? They live in controlled environments and eat processed feed, which lacks the natural pigments that give wild salmon their colour.

So what happens? Farmed salmon are naturally grey.

How Farmed Salmon Become Pink

To make farmed salmon visually appealing, feed manufacturers add synthetic pigments like astaxanthin to their diet. But it gets even stranger:

1. Salmon farmers use a “SalmoFan” colour chart, just like a paint store swatch book.
2. Depending on the country’s consumer preference, they choose the exact shade of pink they want their salmon to be.
3. The fish are literally “custom-coloured” for the market.

Why This Matters

Consumers think they’re buying a natural product, but in reality, the colour is engineered. While the added pigments are generally considered safe, the practice raises questions about transparency, marketing tactics, and what we’re really eating.

Next time you see that perfect pink salmon fillet, remember this:

That colour was chosen for you — not by nature.