Farmed salmon is artificial colour salmon

Chemical dyes like synthetic colourants canthaxanthin and astaxanthin have been used to colour farm-bred salmon.
Fish farmers select from 16 shades of pink on a ‘Colour Fan’ provided by fish food manufacturers ‚Äì the same way we would choose a paint colour for the lounge room wall.

In the wild, a natural diet of krill and shell fish gives salmon its colour, but the over blown fluorescent farmed salmon at your market is fed a toxic colour cocktail; without it your fish would be an unappetizing grey colour.

Canthaxanthin has been linked to aplastic anaemia and loss of night vision. It is now banned in Australia but is still used in the UK.

In its natural form, Astaxanthin, a carotenoid, has some health benefits. The synthetic version used in salmon feed is made from petro-chemicals. It is not fit for human consumption, yet it is fed to the salmon that we ultimately consume.

The best choice is wild salmon, rich in essential fatty acids and just the way nature intended it.

Read more about salmon farming.

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Lindy Schneider is a writer and researcher with a keen interest in health, wellbeing and natural childcare. She is an advocator of a chemical-free lifestyle in the best interests of her family, the community and a sustainable world. She lives in the Yarra Valley with her partner and two young children.