The Color of Money
Salmon is prized for its pink-orange flesh. We associate that color with health, Omega-3s, and freshness. But if you were to visit a commercial salmon farm and cut open a fish that hasn't been "treated," you would be shocked. The meat is gray. Beigey, unappetizing gray.
Why Wild is Pink
In the wild, salmon are carnivores. They hunt krill, shrimp, and crustaceans. These prey contain Astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant pigment (the same one that makes flamingos pink). As the salmon eats, this pigment accumulates in its muscle tissue, creating that signature red-orange hue.
Why Farmed is Gray
Farmed salmon (Aquaculture) do not hunt. They swim in crowded pens and are fed high-calorie pellets designed to fatten them up quickly. These pellets are typically made of soy, corn, wheat, and ground-up fish meal. Because there is no shrimp in the diet, there is no pink pigment. The flesh remains gray.
Enter the SalmoFan™
Consumers won't buy gray salmon. To solve this, chemical companies like DSM created the SalmoFan™. It looks exactly like a paint swatch book you’d find at a hardware store. Salmon farmers can look at the fan and choose their desired flesh color—usually a rich #34 Red to mimic wild Sockeye or a lighter #28 Pink to look like "mild" salmon.
Once the color is chosen, the farmer adds synthetic Astaxanthin (or Canthaxanthin) to the feed. The fish eats the dye, and its flesh turns the correct color just in time for harvest.
"Atlantic" vs. "Wild"
The most confusing lie on the label is the name itself.
- "Atlantic Salmon": This refers to the species (Salmo salar). However, because commercial fishing of wild Atlantic salmon is effectively banned due to low population numbers, almost all Atlantic salmon sold in stores is farmed.
- "Wild Caught": This almost always refers to Pacific species (Sockeye, Coho, Chinook/King).
The WellFact Protocol
How do you tell the difference without the label?
- The Fat Stripes: Farmed salmon is like a cow standing in a feedlot—it doesn't move much and eats corn. It develops thick, white stripes of fat (marbling). Wild salmon is lean and muscular, with very thin fat lines.
- The Color: Wild Sockeye is a deep, dark ruby red. Farmed salmon is a pale, uniform orange-pink (thanks to the dye).
- The Price: If it’s cheap ($10/lb), it’s farmed. Real wild salmon is a premium resource.