Quantitative and legislative aspects regarding canthaxanthin and astaxanthin in smoked salmon

The legal decree of 29/11/94 allows feed supplemented with canthaxanthin to be used for the farming of trout, salmon and chicken. This law is in contr ast to legal decree n. 209 of 1996 which on the basis of directives n. 94/3 4/CE, n. 94/35/CE, n. 94/36/CE, n. 95/2/CE and n. 95/31/CE, concerning the use of food additives permitted in food, prohibits the treatment of smoked fish with canthaxanthin. Thirty-five packages of smoked salmon fillets were analysed by HPLC for the presence of canthaxanthin and astaxanthin to asse ss whether or not they conform to the Italian Legislation. Carotenoids were found in 40% of the samples, with values ranging from 0.19 to 2.92 mg/kg w et weight for canthaxanthin and 0.14 to 2.48 mg/kg wet weight for astaxanth in. The remaining 60% of the samples contained only astaxanthin with values ranging from 0.10 to 4.92 mg/kg wet weight.