Fish Meal in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

The sources cited here do not show harm from fish meal in complete dog foods, and EU law caps contaminants such as mercury in it. It mainly matters for dogs known to be allergic to fish; in one review, fish was a trigger in 5 of 297 food-allergic dogs (about 2%).

Cats

The sources cited here do not show harm from fish meal in complete cat foods. For cats, the sources add two points. Fish is one of the most commonly reported food allergens in cats (13 of 78 food-allergic cats in one review). Merck also describes yellow fat disease in cats, thought to come from too many unsaturated fats with too little vitamin E, with most known cases on diets made partly or wholly of fish.

How settled this is: No known concern at the amounts used in complete foods

What fish meal is

The EU Catalogue of feed materials describes fish meal as the product obtained by heating, pressing and drying whole fish or parts of fish. Fish solubles, a condensed product separated during fish-meal production, may be added back before drying. In the EU, crude protein and crude fat must be declared, plus crude ash if it is above 20% and moisture if it is above 8%. The Catalogue says the name must be supplemented by the animal species.

Why it is in pet food

Fish meal is used as a dry source of animal protein. In its 2017 decision on ethoxyquin, the European Commission described marine feed materials, in particular fish meal and fish oil, as being of high nutritional value and containing a high concentration of easily digestible proteins.

What it does in the food

Fish meal provides protein, fat and minerals (measured as ash). The European Commission notes that feed materials of marine origin are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. This makes them very sensitive to oxidation and high temperature, so they need to be stabilised with an antioxidant, especially during long shipping or storage. Merck notes that fish are rich in fatty acids.

Safety and limits

Contaminants: EU feed law sets maximum levels for undesirable substances. For fish-derived feed materials used to make dog and cat food, the limit for total mercury is 1.0 mg/kg, and finished dog and cat compound feed is limited to 0.3 mg/kg. Feed materials from fish also have a total arsenic limit of 25 mg/kg. Preservative: in 2017 the European Commission noted that ethoxyquin was widely used to protect marine feed materials such as fish meal from oxidation. That year it suspended ethoxyquin as a feed additive, allowing fish meal made with it to be sold until 31 December 2019 and compound feed made from that fish meal until 31 March 2020. In August 2022 the EU went further. It denied ethoxyquin's authorisation as a feed antioxidant and repealed the 2017 suspension. The European Food Safety Authority could not conclude that it was safe, in part because of an impurity, p-phenetidine. See the ethoxyquin page for more. Allergy: in a review of food-challenge studies, fish was a confirmed trigger in 13 of 78 food-allergic cats (17%) and 5 of 297 food-allergic dogs (2%). The authors say these figures do not show true prevalence. Cats: Merck describes yellow fat disease (steatitis), which is thought to come from too many unsaturated fatty acids combined with too little vitamin E or other antioxidants. Most known cases involved diets made partly or wholly of fish or fish by-products.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

The fish species and parts used; how the meal is protected from oxidation and with which antioxidant; contaminant levels in the source fish, which EU law caps; and, for cats, how much of the whole diet comes from fish and whether it has enough vitamin E.

Not the same as

• Fish — Whole or parts of fish that are fresh, frozen, cooked, acid-treated or dried. The EU Catalogue lists it separately from the heated, pressed and dried meal.
• Fish oil — Oil obtained from fish or fish parts. It is fat rather than a protein meal, and it has its own page.
• Fish solubles — A condensed product separated during fish-meal production and stabilised by acidification or drying. It may be added back to fish meal, but it is a separate feed material.
• Hydrolysed fish protein (fish protein hydrolysate) — Fish protein broken down by hydrolysis. It is a separate feed material from fish meal.
• Fishbone meal — Made by heating, pressing and drying fish parts and consisting mainly of fish bone. Only its ash (mineral) content has to be declared.
• Crustacea meal (shrimp meal) — Made from crustaceans such as shrimp, not from fish.

Sources

1. Commission Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials, consolidated text of 24 July 2022 (entries 10.4.1 to 10.4.6 and 10.3.1) — Publications Office of the European Union, 2022. Definition of fish meal (heating, pressing and drying whole fish or parts; fish solubles may be re-added); compulsory declarations; the name shall be supplemented by the animal species; separate entries for fish, fish solubles (condensed, stabilised by acidification or drying), hydrolysed fish protein, fishbone meal, fish oil and crustacea meal.
2. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/962 suspending the authorisation of ethoxyquin as a feed additive (repealed in 2022) — European Commission (Official Journal of the EU), 2017. Recital 11: marine feed materials are high in (polyunsaturated) fatty acids, very sensitive to oxidation and high temperature and need an antioxidant, especially for long shipping or storage; ethoxyquin widely used; fish meal and fish oil of high nutritional value with easily digestible proteins. Articles 1 and 3: suspension and transition dates (31 December 2019 for feed materials, 31 March 2020 for compound feed).
3. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1375 concerning the denial of authorisation of ethoxyquin as a feed additive and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/962 — European Commission (Official Journal of the EU), 2022. Article 1: authorisation of ethoxyquin (E 324) as a feed antioxidant denied; Article 2: Regulation 2017/962 repealed; recital 8: EFSA's January 2022 opinion could not conclude on safety, in part because of the impurity p-phenetidine.
4. Directive 2002/32/EC on undesirable substances in animal feed, consolidated text of 28 November 2019, Annex I — Publications Office of the European Union, 2019. Maximum total mercury of 1.0 mg/kg in fish-derived feed materials for dog and cat compound feed and 0.3 mg/kg in dog and cat compound feed; total arsenic limit of 25 mg/kg for fish and products derived from them.
5. Mueller RS, Olivry T, Prélaud P. Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats. BMC Veterinary Research 12:9 — BMC Veterinary Research (via PubMed Central), 2016. Fish was an offending allergen in 13 of 78 cats (17%) and 5 of 297 dogs (2%) with confirmed food reactions; beef, fish and chicken were the most common in cats; the data do not show true prevalence.
6. Muscle Disorders in Cats: Yellow Fat Disease (Steatitis), Merck Veterinary Manual, pet owner version — Merck & Co. (Merck Veterinary Manual), 2024. Yellow fat disease is thought to result from excess unsaturated fatty acids with too little vitamin E or other antioxidants; most known cases involved diets partly or wholly of fish or fish by-products; fish are rich in fatty acids.

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Definitions are in our own words. This is a reading aid, not veterinary advice: a vet who knows your animal comes first.