Is Farmed Salmon Dyed Pink?

Why Do Farmed and Wild Caught Salmon Have a Different Color?

Producer Potts  0:16  

Okay, can we please talk about the pink salmon food dye? I need to know. How did they dye the salmon? Why do they do it? And like Is it harmful for us because wild caught is way too expensive?

Dr. Sarah  0:32  

I’m so excited about this question. Oh, gosh. This is like one of those zombie myths in the wellness community. And I understand. When you see dye added on the label, you think of food dyes, right? You think of Skittles, right? You think of brightly colored candies. And it doesn’t clarify what that means. And so that’s why there’s this kind of like, misnomer. This misunderstanding this myth that farmed fish has dye added right, it says it on the label. And so the imagery I think, is that it’s being injected into the meat or something, you know, some horrible processing Right? Like it, it seems intimidating and scary. But what that die is what that label means. Is that a really, really cool beneficial karate annoyance, which is a type of nutrient, mainly found in plants. But there’s a few different types that we find in seafood that are so beneficial for us, called Asda. Xanthan, which is found naturally it’s what makes red algae red, and then in the wild, it’s bio magnified through the food chain. So things like krill and shrimp that eat the algae, and then like lobster salmon that are eating the krill, right, so it’s bio magnified through the food chain. And that is what is responsible for that distinctive pink, orange to red color of so many types of seafood. It is this annoying crock annoying called esta Xanten. So when we see it on the label on farmed fish, all it means is that Assa Xanthan was added to the fish feed, often as red algae, right? That’s the exact same thing. That is the beginning of the Astra Xanten in the biomagnification, you know, food chain in the ocean is added to the fish feed. And what’s cool is in aquaculture, like fish farming. fisheries can dial in the amount of acid Xanthan added to the fish feed to get a very specific color? So there’s a lot of consumer testing, like, how much do we need to add so that people will want to buy this fish? And so a lot of us apparently have like really like, the real like, whoa, pretty right? That’s, that’s right. Oddly, sadly, some of our decision making in the grocery stores is that simple, right? It’s not a pretty color. So there’s this really interesting like, sliding scale where it’s like market psychology, where they’re trying to figure out how much asters I’m going to add, so that we will pay more for the farmed fish compared to if they don’t add it, if if those fish aren’t getting the acid Xanthine in their diets, the the meat will be very like white to gray, they add the acid Xanthine instead, that so that crop annoyed is getting into the meat and it’s making it that lovely like orange, pink salmon color. They will figure out exactly how much to add so that we will pay more for that fish because it is a pretty color. But they’re trying to avoid that point where like they’re, it’s a really expensive ingredient for them to add in fisheries. So they try to find that point where we will pay more for the fish. But they’re trying to maximize profits because Right, right, so they’re trying to figure out how much to add, where they can charge enough more. But if they add more, they can’t charge as much more does that make sense? Like yeah, yeah, just trying to find that in between. But it is absolutely the same nutrient that makes wild salmon its color. There’s not quite as much of it in farmed because it’s an expensive ingredient, but it actually makes the fish healthier. And it makes us healthier. So Xanthine is like it’s a really beneficial antioxidant carotenoid. And our only natural source of it is seafood. Gotcha.

Producer Potts  4:45  

So, there’s really nothing wrong with the farm fish even though the color is slightly off in the wild caught.. We’re still getting enough of the nutrients from that fish. So we don’t have to worry about if we can’t afford that. So it’s not actually die. It’s food that they’re eating that changes their color. That’s actually fascinating when you think about it that way, and it’s the same stuff that the wild fish is just eating in the wild, we’re just giving it to them because they’re not in the wild, correct garden.

Dr. Sarah  5:19  

Okay, actually, if you look at the nutrient density of farmed fish versus wild fish, like wild fish does have higher nutrient density, depending on the fish, actually, there’s a breakdown in my book, let me find it. And I’ll read out some percentages. I would just like everyone to know that I found this page in about five seconds, and I’m feeling very proud of myself. So with Atlantic salmon wild is 29% more nutrient dense for coho salmon, wild is 14% more nutrient dense. For rainbow trout, it’s almost identical. So there’s a wow represent difference between wild and farmed. For Eastern oysters, wild is 3%, more nutrient dense for crayfish. Wild is 7%, more nutrient dense, and catfish is the big one. It’s 83%, more nutrient dense when wild caught compared to farmed. But so those differences are not that big. So like, think about whether or not those differences are worth it to you for the price in relation to your budget, right. So that’s like an individual, individual choice that depends on your situation. But the other really important thing to know here is, even though this is usually higher rate, it’s not for rainbow trout, but it is for a lot of different types of seafood. Like the nutrient density of your farmed fish, fish has so much valuable nutrition in it, the protein is some of the most easily digested protein. It’s also been shown in studies to be really good for the composition of our gut microbiomes. We’ve got those long chain omega three fats that improve cardiovascular health, neurological health and immune health. And then you’ve got this great collection of vitamins and minerals, including some that are hard to get from other foods. So most like even your most boring fish, right? You’re like tilapia typically have like double the nutrient density of your common meats that you might choose at the grocery store. And a lot of the more expensive fish like salmon is going to be three or four times more nutrient dense than your chicken breast or your pork chop or your steak or your ground beef, even wind farms. So yes, you’re getting a lot more nutrient density. Maybe not a lot, maybe a 3% difference for Eastern oysters, or a 0% difference for rainbow trout, you’re getting some increase in nutrient density for the wild version, but you’re starting at such an incredibly valuable food for the farm version. 

Producer Potts  8:00  

So I feel like we’re ahead of the game already with the budget option, basically. 

Dr. Sarah  8:04  

Absolutely. And aquaculture in most countries is an incredibly highly regulated industry. So there’s a lot of fear mongering about farmed fish out there. And in most cases that is not based on facts. Gotcha.

Producer Potts  8:24  

And for those of you that may have questions for Sarah, about mercury and seafood, she actually has covered that. So I will make sure to put a little link to the video right here for you. And since you were holding up your book, do you want to tell us where you can buy your book and why everyone should run out and go get your book? Yeah,

Dr. Sarah  8:46  

I mean, my book is awesome. That’s not just me saying that. That is like the crazy huge amount of five star reviews saying that. I am very proud of that. I’m very proud that y’all are loving this book so much. So this book goes through, like what a nutrient dense diet looks like and how to adopt a high quality diet without giving up eating our favorite foods. That’s really the whole goal of neutral for getting all the nutrients our bodies need from the foods we eat. But doing that in a sustainable way, which means that we’re getting joy from our diets in addition to nutrients. And actually I cover a ton of seafood myths including about seafood sustainability. The die is added to the feed that we just talked about. Mercury, radiation, all of that is also covered in the book, which is available wherever books are sold. So just about any online bookseller, a lot of local independent bookstores and it might be at your local library. If it’s not you can put in a request that they stock one.