Arctic Char

Arctic char is a cold-water fish in the salmon family, farmed in land-based freshwater tanks in places like Ontario. It is a high-value food fish, and pet food adds it raw, weighed wet.^1,3,4

1. 01 // Source Farmed char Ontario farms raise char only in land-based freshwater systems, stocked at 60 to 90 kg per cubic meter.
2. 02 // Process Harvested Harvest begins when the largest fish reach 1 kg, before the fish mature at about 3 years.
3. 03 // Process Added raw The fish goes into the recipe raw, at about 77% water, and is cooked with the rest of the kibble.
4. 04 // Output Arctic char Listed by its weight before cooking, so its rank on the label includes water that later cooks off.

1. 01

   Fish fat with omega-3

   Raw char is about 31% fat on a dry basis, with EPA and DHA near 4.8%. That fat adds energy and long-chain omega-3, which plant oils do not supply.¹

2. 02

   Protein, minus the water

   Dried down, char is about 70% protein. It goes in at 77% water, though, and that water cooks off, so its real contribution is far smaller than its weight.^1,4

3. 03

   A costly named fish

   AAFCO requires fish muscle to be listed by its identifying term, so char appears by name. Ontario's profile calls it high-value, with limited supply and higher wholesale prices than other salmonids.^3,4

How much No source publishes how much char a recipe holds, and the label ranks it by wet weight before cooking, which flatters any fresh fish.⁴

1. Critics say

   Fresh fish is mostly water that cooks off

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Plain arithmetic. Raw char is 77% water in the Norwegian food table, and labels rank ingredients by weight before cooking. Char listed first can supply less fish protein than a fish meal listed third.^1,4

2. Brands say

   Fish omega-3 eases stiff, arthritic joints

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a 38-dog randomized trial, a therapeutic food with 3.5% fish oil omega-3 improved weight bearing in 82% of dogs against 38% of controls. A food listing char among several meats is not dosed like that.⁸

3. Brands say

   Char omega-3s give a shiny coat and healthy skin

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Dog trials used fish oil at set doses. The 2015 international atopic dermatitis guidelines expect only a small benefit, seen after about 2 months, with no dose or enriched diet proven better. No study has fed char.⁹

4. Brands say

   A novel protein for dogs with food allergies

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Fish caused only 5 of 297 proven food reactions, a count that mirrors what dogs ate. And 10 of 12 store limited antigen diets held undeclared animal material, fish in 5, so a char food is no elimination diet.^5,6

5. Owners say

   Fish in dog food carries mercury and pollutants

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   The only data are from wild char. Svalbard monitoring calls pollutants in char generally low, while mean mercury across 83 wild lake populations ran 0.01 to 1.13 µg/g wet weight. No one has tested farmed char or char in pet food.^10,11