Canthaxanthin in aquafeed applications: is there any risk?

The carotenoid pigment 'canthaxanthin' has been used in aquafeed for many years in order to impart the desired flesh colour in farmed salmonids. A side effect of extreme overdosage of this carotenoid is the deposition of minute crystals in the eye, a fact leading to adverse media attention for canthaxanthin in the past, and some pressure to limit its use aquafeeds, A real appraisal of the possible amount of canthaxanthin ingested by humans through the consumption of notable quantities of highly pigmented salmon, reveals that it is extremely unlikely that consumers could be exposed to sufficient canthaxanthin to attain the established ADI for this pigment. Additionally, the ADI is 10 times lower than the reported no-effect level (NOEL) for canthaxanthin, Therefore, canthaxanthin is a safe source of carotenoids for salmonid feeds. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.