Collagen-Rich FoodsMeat and Fish, per 100 g

To answer “which foods are high in collagen?”, there is a study that actually analyzed Japanese foods. Researchers at Kinjo Gakuin University and elsewhere reported in 2012 in the Japanese Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics how much collagen common meats and seafoods contain, and how much women take in from their meals.

Ranking the analyzed foods by collagen per 100 g gives the following.

Collagen is concentrated in tendon, cartilage, offal, eel and fish skin — parts outside the “flesh” we usually eat. Shark fin, the highest, is rarely part of everyday meals.

These are the values for the 15 meats analyzed. We list the amount per 100 g and, as a worked example, the amount in 50 g.

From Table 1 of the 2012 study, sorted from highest. “If 50 g” is simply half the per-100 g value, as an example. The study noted that for pork, the difference between offcuts and other cuts was small.

Comparing flesh only, beef shoulder had 750 mg per 100 g and chicken thigh 1,560 mg — about twice as much in chicken. Among meats, tendon and offal such as beef tendon, chicken cartilage and pork intestine had the most.

These are the values for the 29 seafoods analyzed. Some fish were measured separately with and without skin.

From Table 1 of the 2012 study, sorted from highest. *Pike conger (with skin) was calculated from the weight ratio of skin to flesh, not measured. “If 50 g” is a worked example.

Among seafood, shark fin, pike conger skin and grilled eel were especially high, while fish roe such as cod roe and herring roe had very little. Kamaboko fish cake had 380 mg per 100 g.

Comparing the same fish with and without skin, the version with skin had more collagen. The study notes that for pike conger and salmon, the skin had about three times as much as the flesh (pike conger: flesh only 2,540 mg, skin only 7,660 mg).

Whether the skin gets eaten depends on the dish

The same study also recorded whether the women ate the skin of the fish dishes they had.

From Table 5 of the 2012 study; hot pot (1) and other dishes (6) omitted. The numbers are small, so treat them as a rough guide.

The researchers suggest that the skin of grilled fish tends to be left because of its taste, texture or charring.

The 2012 study did not include cod or eggs. So here we compare common meats and fish using Japan's official Standard Tables of Food Composition, which list hydroxyproline, an amino acid found almost only in collagen. The more hydroxyproline, the more collagen a food is likely to contain.

From Table 1 of the Amino Acid Composition volume (Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2023 supplement), measured values only, highest first. Pork is from large breeds with fat; chicken is young broiler. This is a marker for comparison, not the collagen amount itself.

Cod: the Skin, Not the Flesh

Cod flesh (Pacific cod and Alaska pollock) was on the low side among everyday meats and fish. These values are for skinless flesh. As the study above showed for pike conger and salmon, whose skin had about three times the collagen of the flesh, fish collagen is concentrated in the skin. Cod skin is used as a raw material for fish collagen. See What Is Fish Collagen? for details.

What About Eggs, Milk and Tofu?

The food composition tables do not list hydroxyproline for eggs, milk or tofu (shown as “−”). Collagen is an animal protein found in skin, tendons and bone, so a high-protein food is not necessarily high in collagen. Chicken tenderloin, for example, is high in protein but had only 28 mg of hydroxyproline.

The 61 women in the study took in an average of about 1.9 g of collagen a day from food. By age group, women in their 20s averaged about 1.7 g and those in their 30s, 40s and 50s about 2.0 g each, with no clear difference between groups. Individual variation was large.

Main items from Table 4 of the 2012 study (seasonings excluded).

Collagen-rich tendon, offal, eel and pike conger were eaten rarely, so their share was small. The largest share came from pork, which was eaten often.

Rice meals versus bread and noodle meals

By staple food, meals with rice provided more collagen from side dishes than meals with bread or noodles. Rice meals also had more side dishes, and the researchers think the number of dishes plays a part. In bread meals, 52.1% had 0 mg of collagen from side dishes.

• Collagen is a protein: it is digested in the body; most is broken down into amino acids, and some is reported to be absorbed as peptides (two amino acids joined together). What you eat does not simply become collagen in your body. See our study guide “What Happens to Collagen You Swallow?”
• Vitamin C: vitamin C is described as essential for the body to make collagen.
• Watch the fat: the study also notes that eating more meat and other animal foods tends to lead to too much fat.
• Daily amount: there is no national daily standard for collagen. Amounts used in research are summarized in our study guide “How Much Collagen per Day?”

Which food has the most collagen?
Of the 44 meats and seafoods analyzed in the 2012 study, shark fin (rehydrated) had the most at 9,920 mg per 100 g, followed by pike conger skin (7,660 mg), grilled eel (5,530 mg) and beef tendon (4,980 mg).

How much collagen do we get from ordinary meals?
A study of 61 women in their 20s to 50s found an average of about 1.9 g a day.

Does fish with skin have more collagen than without?
Yes. Salmon had 820 mg per 100 g without skin and 2,410 mg with skin.

Is cod high in collagen?
In Japan's food composition tables, cod flesh is on the low side among everyday meats and fish (Pacific cod flesh has 110 mg of hydroxyproline per 100 g). Fish collagen is concentrated in the skin, and cod skin is used as a raw material for fish collagen.

Are cod roe and herring roe high in collagen?
No, the values were low: 50 mg per 100 g for salted cod roe and 40 mg for herring roe.

Does chicken soup stock powder contain collagen?
Chicken-bone soup stock powder had 2,690 mg per 100 g of powder. Consommé granules (80 mg) and dashi powder (300 mg) had far less.