Know2eat

Farmed Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

Also known as Farmed salmon, Aquaculture salmon

SaveCompare

The great majority of salmon sold worldwide, raised in sea pens on formulated feed. It is consistently fattier than wild salmon, and its colour comes from astaxanthin added to the feed rather than from wild prey.

Heart HealthWomen's Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Moderate

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Moderate evidence

Research suggests farmed salmon, like other oily fish, lowers blood triglycerides when eaten regularly. It is rated one step below wild salmon here only because its omega-3 density varies with feed and has trended downwards.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Cardiovascular risk markers

Heart Health
Limited evidence

Some trials report improvements in cardiovascular risk markers with regular farmed salmon intake. The trials are small and short, and most of the cohort evidence on fish and heart disease predates the shift in aquaculture feed.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Pregnancy nutrition

Women's Health
Insufficient evidence

Has been studied as a low-mercury source of DHA during pregnancy, which national advisories recommend two to three portions of per week. Trials of maternal DHA and child outcomes have produced mixed results.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Farmed Atlantic salmon

Ask about Farmed Atlantic salmon

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories208 kcal10%
Protein20.4 g41%
Total fat13.4 g17%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars0 g—
Water64.9 g—
Fats
Saturated fat3.05 g15%
Monounsaturated fat3.77 g—
Polyunsaturated fat3.89 g—
Cholesterol55 mg18%
ALA (omega-3)0.148 g—
EPA (omega-3)0.862 g—
DHA (omega-3)1.1 g—
DPA (omega-3)0.393 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.9 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A58 µg6%
Vitamin C3.9 mg4%
Vitamin D11 µg55%
Vitamin E3.55 mg24%
Vitamin K0.5 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.207 mg17%
Riboflavin (B2)0.155 mg12%
Niacin (B3)8.67 mg54%
Pantothenic acid (B5)1.55 mg31%
Vitamin B60.636 mg37%
Folate26 µg7%
Vitamin B123.23 µg135%
Choline78.5 mg14%
Minerals
Calcium9 mg1%
Iron0.34 mg2%
Magnesium27 mg6%
Phosphorus240 mg19%
Potassium363 mg8%
Sodium59 mg3%
Zinc0.36 mg3%
Copper0.045 mg5%
Manganese0.011 mg0%
Selenium24 µg44%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash1.13 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 175167).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Allergy

    Fish allergy

    A major regulated allergen. Parvalbumin-driven reactions are typically persistent and can be severe.

  • Too much

    Persistent organic pollutants

    Farmed salmon has historically measured higher than wild for dioxins and PCBs, though levels have fallen substantially as feed formulations changed. Regulators in producing countries still judge the balance to favour eating it.

  • Worth knowing

    Feed composition drives the nutrition

    As aquaculture feed has shifted from fish oil towards plant oils, the omega-3 content of farmed salmon has fallen and its omega-6 content risen. Two fillets from different producers are not nutritionally interchangeable.

  • Interaction

    Anticoagulant medication

    Very high long-chain omega-3 intake can lengthen bleeding time slightly, a consideration mostly for concentrated supplements rather than for eating fish.