Study: Canola safe to use in salmon feed

Liza Mayer  February 8, 2018  

Canola oil could someday become a common ingredient for salmon feed. At the moment, raising fish rich in Omega-3s means supplementing their feed with fish oil.

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima) said preliminary results of their study show Omega-3 oil derived from canola is safe to use as ingredient in salmon feed.

Canola is a vegetable oil derived from rapeseed, which is rich in the marine fatty acid DHA.

Results of the Nofima study show salmon given feed containing Omega-3 Canola had the same Omega-3 levels as salmon fed with fish oil. Gene expression analyses showed that effects depended on the amount of oil, not the type of oil, the study says.

Feed producer Cargill is developing a new type of canola oil for use in fish feed.

Canola bloom. The vegetable oil derived from rapeseed is rich in the marine fatty acid DHA