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Ingredient file // Flavor

Capelin Broth

Fish flavored moisture, with unproven health claims

Capelin broth is the liquid made by cooking capelin or its parts in water. In wet food, it adds moisture and fish flavor. Its contribution to protein is unknown, and the joint and skin benefits claimed for its collagen have not been tested.

Role in the food Does a job
What it is
Liquid made by cooking capelin fish or its parts in water and retaining the flavored cooking liquid.
Made from
Capelin fish or its parts
Main job
Moisture and fish flavor
Typical amount
Not published
Watch for
Dogs with a diagnosed fish allergy
Not the same as
Capelin oil

Straight answer

Is Capelin Broth safe for dogs?

Read the fish, then judge the whole food

Read capelin broth as flavored cooking liquid. Its place beside named fish on a wet food label reflects water weight as well as fish material. Check the finished food's dry matter protein and nutrient profile, and choose it for your dog's tolerance, not for a joint or omega-3 promise attached to the broth.

Why it is in the food
Moisture and fish flavor

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 3,204 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

<1%

1 of the 3,204 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All wet dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 4. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a main ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Open Farm. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Fish processors can retain liquid from cooking capelin, or make broth for a recipe by cooking fish in water. Using a cooking liquid gives the processor another saleable product. The brand has not published its supplier's method.4,6,8

  1. 01 // Source Capelin fish Capelin or capelin parts supply the fish material; the supplier's exact mix is not disclosed.
  2. 02 // Process Cooked in water Heating fish in water transfers flavor and some soluble fish material into the liquid.
  3. 03 // Process Liquid retained The cooking liquid is separated from the fish solids to make a pourable broth.
  4. 04 // Output Capelin broth The liquid goes into wet food for moisture and flavor; no analysis of this ingredient has been published.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

71.1

% protein

Protein's share of the solids in a measured fish broth, calculated from its published wet analysis. This is a proxy, not a capelin broth result.

Total protein 71.1%4
Ash 13.5%4
Crude fat 3.8%4

Each row divides the published as-fed value by 10.49% dry matter. The tested sample was degreased fish broth used in piglet feed, not capelin broth. Dilution, skimming and salt change a broth's solids.4

Why it is in the bag

There for moisture and fish flavor

  1. Main nutrition
  2. Supporting nutrient
  3. Does a job
  4. Mostly filler

In wet food, capelin broth is cooking liquid that adds moisture and fish flavor. Ingredient lists run by weight, so its place near the top partly reflects water. Researchers who tested a different fish broth called it a source of readily available protein, so this one likely carries some fish protein too. No analysis of capelin broth is published, so how much it adds to the food's nutrition is unmeasured.1,4,6,7

  1. 01

    Adds cooking moisture

    Broth supplies liquid to a wet recipe. Moisture from food counts toward a dog's water intake, though dogs may drink less from their bowls when food is wetter.1,6

  2. 02

    Adds fish flavor

    Cooking draws fish flavor into water. Manufacturers can use that liquid to flavor wet food, but dog preference tests on concentrated fish hydrolysates do not measure capelin broth.2,6,8

  3. 03

    Uses a processing liquid

    Fish processing can leave a usable cooking liquid. Retaining it creates a saleable ingredient from a stream a processor would otherwise have to handle.4

How much No published formula states capelin broth's share; the brand reports nutrition for the finished food, not for its broth.8,9

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Broth adds moisture to wet food

    Evidence

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

    Broth is liquid. In a 10-dog crossover trial, a moist diet supplied 375.4 g of water from food versus 11.0 g from kibble. That demonstrates dietary moisture, not a special effect of capelin.1,6

  2. Brands say

    Fish broth makes picky dogs eat more

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    In a 12-dog preference test, diets with different marine hydrolysates split intake 49.9 to 50.1. Hydrolysates are concentrated ingredients, and neither diet tested capelin broth. An appetite benefit from this broth remains unmeasured.2

  3. Brands say

    Capelin broth collagen supports joints and skin

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    A blinded 31-dog trial found better gait after 12 weeks of purified porcine collagen peptides at about 240 mg/kg daily. The brand gives no collagen amount for its broth, and that trial did not test skin.3,8

  4. Owners say

    Capelin broth delivers skin-supporting omega-3s

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    A measured degreased fish broth contained 0.4% fat as fed; the researchers added fish oil separately. No EPA or DHA amount is published for capelin broth, so its contribution cannot support a skin claim.4

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It supplies liquid and fish flavor to wet food. A different measured fish broth had 10.49% solids as fed, so a broth should not be read as another serving of fish flesh.4,6

  2. Q02

    Does broth count as capelin protein?

    Only partly

    Broth contains some fish protein, but most of its weight is water. Ingredient lists count that water. Read the named fish and the finished food's dry matter protein figure to judge the recipe's substance.4,7,9

  3. Q03

    Is it the same as fish oil?

    No

    Fish oil is the fat fraction. A tested degreased fish broth contained just 0.4% fat as fed, and researchers added fish oil separately. Look for an oil ingredient or a published EPA and DHA analysis.4

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Open Farm 1 / 42

Foods that list it / all the brand's recipes we track.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Salmon 100%
  2. Salmon Broth 100%
  3. Capelin 100%
  4. Potatoes 100%
  5. Sunflower Oil 100%
  6. Kelp 100%
  7. Potassium Chloride 100%
  8. Choline Chloride 100%
  9. Magnesium Sulfate 100%

On the shelf

Foods that list Capelin Broth

1 food in our catalog lists it, highest on the label first.

Sources

What we read

Checked October 2, 2026.

  1. 1 Feeding fresh food and providing water ad libitum is clinically proven to exceed calculated daily water requirements and impact urine relative supersaturation in dogs Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2025 // Journal
  2. 2 Protein hydrolysate and oil from fish waste reveal potential as dog food ingredients Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2024 // Journal
  3. 3 The oral intake of specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP) improves gait and quality of life in canine osteoarthritis patients: A translational large animal model for a nutritional therapy option PLOS ONE, 2024 // Journal
  4. 4 The effect of diets supplemented with fish broth and fish oil on the health of weaners Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 2011 // Journal
  5. 5 Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats BMC Veterinary Research, 2016 // Journal
  6. 6 Ingredient Definitions Committee Report AAFCO, 2014 // Regulator
  7. 7 What's in the Ingredients List? AAFCO, n.d. // Regulator
  8. 8 Icelandic Salmon & Capelin Wet Food for Dogs Open Farm, n.d. // Industry
  9. 9 Nutrient Profile: Salmon, Capelin & Kelp Recipe Open Farm, n.d. // Industry
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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