Salmon Organ

Salmon farms and fisheries gut fish before filleting. The organs, about 10.6% of an Atlantic salmon's body weight, are unattractive as human food, and researchers point them toward animal feed instead.^3,4,7,11

1. 01 // Source Whole salmon Farmed or wild salmon arrive at a processing plant to be gutted and filleted for the human market.
2. 02 // Process Gutted The organs come out first: heart, liver, kidney, spleen, bile sac, swim bladder and gonads, plus the gills.
3. 03 // Process Ground Grinding the organs speeds fat oxidation. Heads and frames without these reactive organs stayed stable in storage.
4. 04 // Process Frozen or freeze-dried The raw mix is frozen. Fish held at -20°C for 14 days no longer caused salmon poisoning in a coyote study.
5. 05 // Output Salmon organ Listed right after salmon, inside a recipe built from salmon muscle, organ and bone.

1. 01

   Uses what fillets leave

   Viscera are about 10.6% of an Atlantic salmon. Researchers call them unattractive as human food but suited to animal feed for their protein, fat, EPA and DHA.³

2. 02

   Supplies the organ share

   Raw recipes copy a muscle, organ and bone formula. One salmon recipe describes itself as 95% muscle meat, organs, marrow and bone, all from salmon.¹¹

3. 03

   Adds fat and some vitamins

   Chinook liver is about 26.5% fat on a dry basis and carries 3,140 IU vitamin A and 2.6 mg iron per 100 g fresh.¹

How much No brand publishes the organ share; one recipe lists salmon, salmon organ and salmon bone together as about 95% of the food.¹¹

1. Brands say

   Salmon organ is a rich protein source

   Evidence

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

   The only USDA analysis is one Chinook liver sample: 16.6 g protein per 100 g fresh, about 55% dry. That trails raw beef liver at about 70%, and the organ mix in a bag is never itemized.^1,2

2. Brands say

   Organs are nature's multivitamin

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   Salmon liver carries 3,140 IU vitamin A per 100 g, about a fifth of beef liver's 16,900 IU. The same salmon recipe still adds vitamin A, D3, B12, zinc and copper, so the organs do not complete it.^1,2,11

3. Brands say

   Salmon omega-3s improve skin, coat and joints

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   Fish oil works in dogs: in a 38-dog trial, a food with 3.5% fish oil improved weight bearing in 82% of arthritic dogs against 38% on control. No study has tested salmon organ, and its dose is unpublished.^3,8

4. Owners say

   Raw salmon gives dogs salmon poisoning

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   The disease is real: California wildlife officials say 90% of dogs with symptoms die untreated. It comes from raw Pacific Northwest salmonids, and coyotes fed fish held at -20°C for 14 days stayed healthy, so properly frozen food carries little of this risk.^5,6,7

5. Critics say

   Organ by-products are cheap filler

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   AAFCO counts organs such as liver, spleen and kidney among by-products that are safe and nutritious for animals. The one salmon liver analyzed was about 55% protein on a dry basis, which no filler is.^1,10