Astaxanthin: which foods contain it?

What is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid of the xanthophyll group: a red, fat-soluble pigment made by microorganisms and found in marine animals (Ambati and colleagues, 2014). EFSA describes it as a pink colour extract that is widely used as a colour in the food and feed industry.

Which foods contain it?

According to the review by Ambati and colleagues, the sources of astaxanthin are algae, a yeast (Phaffia rhodozyma), salmon, trout, krill, shrimp and crayfish. The review names shrimp, crab and salmon as dietary sources. For astaxanthin from the everyday diet, EFSA considers fish and crustaceans.

The review compiles these figures from other publications. They give an order of magnitude and vary with the species, what the animal eats and the product.

Reading milligrams per kilogram

The review expresses contents in milligrams per kilogram of flesh. To relate this to a portion, divide by ten to get milligrams per 100 grams: 26 to 38 milligrams per kilogram is 2.6 to 3.8 milligrams per 100 grams, and 6 to 8 milligrams per kilogram is 0.6 to 0.8 milligrams per 100 grams. This conversion was made by this page, and a portion of fish is usually not exactly 100 grams.

The wide ranges say something too. Wild sockeye salmon vary by 12 milligrams per kilogram within one species, and trout sold in two markets differ by a factor of about four. The review notes that content depends on the species, on what the animal eats and on the product, which is why the figures are an order of magnitude and not a promise about any given fillet.

Why does farmed salmon contain it?

Salmon do not make this pigment themselves: they get it from what they eat. According to Ambati and colleagues, astaxanthin is used as a pigment source in the feed of farmed salmon, trout and shrimp. In the EU, astaxanthin is authorised as a feed additive for fish, crustaceans and ornamental fish, under the number 2a161j. In 2026, assessing the renewal of that authorisation, EFSA concluded that it remains safe for these animals, for consumers and for the environment under the authorised conditions of use.

An alga rich in astaxanthin

Haematococcus pluvialis is a green microalga that accumulates astaxanthin when its living conditions become harsh: high salinity, lack of nitrogen, heat or intense light. The review by Ambati and colleagues reports levels of up to 3.8% of its dry matter and presents it as the main source of astaxanthin for human consumption.

An alga is not a fish

Haematococcus pluvialis can accumulate up to 3.8% of its dry matter as astaxanthin.¹ Expressed in the same unit as the fish figures, 3.8% of dry matter is 38 grams per kilogram, or 38,000 milligrams per kilogram of dry alga, about a thousand times the highest salmon value in the table. The comparison is only an illustration of scale: the alga is a dried source studied for extraction, whereas salmon is an everyday food, and the two are not eaten in the same way. EFSA's opinion concerns an oleoresin made from the alga, which is a different product from either.

This is also why the page keeps food sources and the novel food apart. The oleoresin is on the Union list of novel foods for uses and at levels set by the European Commission, and the acceptable daily intake that EFSA quotes is a safety limit, not an amount to aim for.²

What is its status in Europe?

According to EFSA's 2020 opinion, an astaxanthin-rich oleoresin from the alga Haematococcus pluvialis is on the Union list of novel foods (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470), for uses and at levels set by the European Commission. In that opinion, EFSA uses the acceptable daily intake (ADI) set in 2019 by its panel on animal feed: 0.2 mg of astaxanthin per kilogram of body mass per day, which replaced the 2014 value. An ADI is a safety limit, not an amount to aim for.

Color is not a measurement

The pink of a salmon fillet comes from pigments such as astaxanthin, which the fish takes from what it eats.¹ It is tempting to read a deeper colour as a higher content, but the sources read give no rule linking the shade of a fillet to a number, so this page does not use colour as a measure. The published figures come from laboratory analyses, and they vary with species, diet and product.

It also helps to know what each source is. The 2014 review compiles composition figures from other publications. The two EFSA documents are safety opinions: one assesses astaxanthin as a novel food, the other the renewal of its authorisation as a feed additive. A safety opinion tells you where the limits lie and under which conditions a use is considered safe; it is not a table of contents for foods, which is why this page takes its amounts from the review and its limits from EFSA.

For other food composition pages, see glycine, spermidine and taurine. The rules for reading a pack are in how to read a food label, and the group is collected in food composition guides.

What this page does not say

• It attributes no property to astaxanthin.
• It recommends no amount, per day or per meal.
• The figures come from a review that compiles other work; the sources read do not say what happens to astaxanthin during cooking.
• It repeats no regulatory wording: none applies to an information page.

When to ask for advice

To adapt your diet to your situation, a doctor or dietitian can advise you. This page presents data on food composition and does not replace medical advice.

Frequently asked questions