by Yann le Gal, Senior Business Development Manager, Veramaris, France
Consumers buy seafood for the health benefits associated with omega-3s EPA and DHA, so ensuring seafood products deliver the recommended levels of EPA and DHA is essential to meet rising expectations around healthy nutrition. The Veramaris omega-3 Deposition Model enables producers to accurately predict and control the nutritional quality of seafood by linking fish diet inputs to fillet nutrition outcomes. In farmed fish diets, using high-purity, ASC-MSC-certified algal oil as a reliable omega-3 source secures nutrient consistency, reduces supply risks, and opens opportunities for product marketing differentiation and branding.
A Lifetime of Benefits: The omega-3 Imperative
Seafood is renowned among consumers as a superfood. But what gives seafood this status? It’s a source of primary dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA. These crucial types of omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish and algae, are vital for human health, responsible for brain development, cognitive and eye function, cardiovascular health and immune responses. Surveys confirm that 69 percent of seafood consumers cite nutrition and health as their main reason for eating seafood, and more than two-thirds of salmon consumers in the United States and France consider omega-3 content a very important purchase factor.
Current dietary recommendations advise a minimum intake of 1.75g of EPA and DHA per week. At the same time, we are advised to eat two portions of fish per week, one of which should be oily. That means that just one portion of salmon should contain enough EPA+DHA to meet this weekly recommended level.
However, studies show substantial variation in EPA and DHA content among farmed salmon, creating inconsistency between labelled nutritional claims and the actual nutrient profile delivered to consumers. Unfortunately, the level of EPA+DHA contained in one portion of farmed salmon, for the vast majority, doesn’t provide consumers with the minimum recommended intake of 1.75g.
To maintain credibility and meet consumer expectations, producers must ensure that every 125g portion provides approximately 1.75g of EPA and DHA. This commitment not only aligns with national health recommendations but also reinforces the reputation of farmed salmon as a nutritious and health-enhancing protein source
Predicting nutritional outcomes
Veramaris can support the industry in addressing the variability in omega-3 deposition in farmed seafood. Veramaris algal oil is a science-based solution and the world’s first and only ASC-MSC certified algal oil with the highest omega-3 levels in the industry, of over 70 percent. The oil provides a unique EPA and DHA nutrient profile, with contaminant levels for dioxins and dl-PCBs below detection limits. This ingredient contains natural antioxidants for oxidative stability and offers reliable availability at commercial scale.
Veramaris has developed a first-of-its-kind, mathematical tool to further support the industry by quantifying the relationship between dietary levels of EPA and DHA and how this is deposited in a salmon fillet. The Omega-3 Deposition Model, or O3D Model, integrates two established modelling approaches: nutrient-demand models, which determine nutritional requirements for optimal growth, and nutrient-flow models, which describe how these nutrients are utilised and stored by the fish. By combining these into an integrated demand-and-flow framework, the model can accurately predict the level of EPA and DHA that will be deposited in the fillet based on known feed composition. You can also predict the required dietary level of EPA and DHA to meet a targeted level in the flesh too.
Built on robust, peer-reviewed data and validated through collaboration with recognised experts, this tool allows producers to benchmark real-life data, refine feeding strategies, and set directional targets to secure the nutritional value of their salmon. Both experimental and commercial-scale test results were used to validate the model – demonstrating that the nutritional profile of farmed seafood can be optimized.
Value creation: sustainable innovation
The initiative also extends beyond salmon, with ongoing work to develop species-specific models for shrimp and marine fish addressing knowledge gaps and improving consistency across aquaculture systems.
Early results, including studies showing that EPA and DHA deposition in shrimp tail muscle is also highly correlated with dietary input, underscore the model’s versatility and scientific validity. Ultimately, this approach positions nutritional modelling not only as a technical tool but as a foundation for value creation – allowing producers to configure the health profile of their seafood, deliver verifiable nutritional benefits and strengthen consumer trust in farmed products.
This is a prime source for downstream value creation, with opportunities for on-pack promotion from conventional to enriched, offering complete daily omega-3 needs in just one portion.
The O3D Model allows producers to maintain consistent nutritional specifications across salmon, shrimp and marine-fish species, while meeting feed certification requirements. In marine fish, there is more opportunity to emphasise nutritional quality. By quantifying deposition outcomes through the model, producers can demonstrate verified nutrient delivery to consumers – perfect to support transparent labelling and meet increasing consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable farmed seafood.
What’s next?
Securing the nutritional value of farmed seafood requires an integrated approach that combines scientific precision, sustainable sourcing and transparent communication. The evidence presented demonstrates that omega-3 fatty acids (specifically EPA and DHA) remain central to seafood’s health-value proposition, yet consistency across farmed species depends heavily on feed formulation and availability of EPA+DHA derived from fish oil.
With Veramaris, the industry is offered a credible, data-driven method to predict and control these key nutrients, ensuring that nutritional claims align with measurable outcomes. The adoption of high-purity algal oil provides a dependable, ASC-MSC-certified omega-3 source. This gives the industry a predictable and renewable additional source of EPA+DHA to hedge against fish oil volatility and provide the consistency that the market needs. Together, these innovations enable producers to deliver on consumer expectations, reinforce trust in farmed seafood and position nutrition as a measurable, verifiable driver of long-term value creation: ‘healthy fish, healthy food and healthy people.’
