Salmon Oil

Salmon oil is a kind of fish oil used as a dietary supplement, as a source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Salmon is a cold-water fatty fish that contains large amounts of these acids.^[1]

Production

Salmon is one of many fish species from which oil is extracted, along with cod, herring, mackerel, tuna, anchovy and sardine. The raw material is often what is left after the fish is processed: heads, skin, guts, bones and fins.^[2] Such by-products supplied close to half of all fish oil produced in 2020.^[3]

The general industrial method for making fish oil is wet rendering. The raw material is cooked at about 90–100 °C, which releases oil and water. It is then pressed, and the oil is separated from the water; the remaining solids become animal feed. Oil meant for food is then refined. This removes smelly or coloured substances and sometimes toxic ones, such as heavy metals and dioxins.^[2]

Omega-3 content

Fish oil can contain up to about 50% omega-3 fatty acids; EPA and DHA make up 5 to 26% of all its fatty acids.^[2] The omega-3 content of fish depends on what the fish eat. Farmed fish usually contain more EPA and DHA than wild-caught fish, but this depends on their feed.^[1]

Farmed salmon get their EPA and DHA from their feed, traditionally from fish oil. Because fish oil is in limited supply, the industry has shifted to vegetable oils, which lack long-chain omega-3s. Because of these changes in feed, the EPA and DHA content of salmon fillets halved between 2004 and 2015.^[3]

Safety

Fish oil supplements have not been found to contain the methylmercury that occurs in seafood, because it is removed during processing. Side effects of omega-3 supplements are usually mild, such as an unpleasant taste, bad breath, heartburn, nausea or diarrhoea.^[1]

Products containing it

Salmon oil capsules, Vital Plus (S 04)

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Office of Dietary Supplements, Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Retrieved 15 October 2026.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 V. G. Alfio, C. Manzo and R. Micillo, From Fish Waste to Value: An Overview of the Sustainable Recovery of Omega-3 for Food Supplements. Molecules 26 (2021), 1002.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 I. Carr, B. Glencross and E. Santigosa, The importance of essential fatty acids and their ratios in aquafeeds to enhance salmonid production, welfare, and human health. Frontiers in Animal Science 4 (2023), 1147081.

[ods-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Office of Dietary Supplements, Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Retrieved 15 October 2026.

[alfio-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 V. G. Alfio, C. Manzo and R. Micillo, From Fish Waste to Value: An Overview of the Sustainable Recovery of Omega-3 for Food Supplements. Molecules 26 (2021), 1002.

[carr2023-3] 3.0 ^3.1 I. Carr, B. Glencross and E. Santigosa, The importance of essential fatty acids and their ratios in aquafeeds to enhance salmonid production, welfare, and human health. Frontiers in Animal Science 4 (2023), 1147081.

[1]

[2]

[3]