Why is salmon flesh so special?

The orange color of wild salmon is not essentially formed by itself alone. The reason why its meat turns orange is the accumulation of a carotenoid called "astaxanthin" in the body. Astaxanthin, however, cannot be synthesized by fish themselves and must be transferred through the food chain. At first, algae and plankton were the original producers of astaxanthin. After these microorganisms were consumed by shrimps, the pigment entered their shells. When salmon prey on these crustaceans, astaxanthin gradually deposits in their bodies and eventually accumulates to form a bright color visible to the naked eye. Astaxanthin affects the color of salmon meat.

In the breeding farms, operators have found that the lack of natural astaxanthin in the feed can cause the fish meat to appear grayish-white, which is hard for consumers who are accustomed to orange-red salmon to accept. To solve this problem, Norwegian scientists were the first to add the artificial synthetic pigment "keratoxin" to the feed in the 1980s. This carotenoid can be converted into astaxanthin substances in the salmon body, making the farmed fish meat achieve a color similar to that of wild fish. In modern times, feed formulas are adjusted according to market preferences for color: the Japanese market prefers pinkish orange, while European consumers prefer orange-red. According to the data, the cost of pigment addition in the feed for farmed salmon can account for 15% to 20%. Up to now, color management has become an important link in salmon farming.