Group · Fish
Roundnose grenadier
The roundnose grenadier (known in French as grenadier de roche) is a deep-sea fish of the North Atlantic, caught between 400 and 1,500 metres. Its white, very lean flesh is sold as fillets, often simply as « grenadier » with no further detail.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw: only 68.9 kcal per 100 g, with 15.4 g of protein and 0.81 g of fat. Its extraordinary figure is selenium: 356 µg per 100 g, more than six times the reference intake, and above the safe upper limit, as explained below.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 69 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 292 kJ |
| Protein | 15,4 g |
| Fat | 0,9 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Selenium356 µg647 %
- DHA0,13 g52 %
- EPA0,04 g16 %
- Phosphorus103 mg15 %
- Potassium281 mg14 %
- Vitamin B120,33 µg13 %
- Vitamin E1,36 mg11 %
- Vitamin D0,52 µg10 %
See the other 11 nutrients
- Iodine13,4 µg9 %
- Vitamin B60,12 mg9 %
- Vitamin B31,29 mg8 %
- Total omega-30,17 g7 %
- Magnesium22,1 mg6 %
- Zinc0,22 mg2 %
- Vitamin B50,08 mg1 %
- Iron0,12 mg1 %
- Calcium1,64 mg0 %
- Omega-3 ALA0 g0 %
- Omega-6 LA0,01 g0 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
356 µg of selenium: this is above the safe upper limit. EFSA sets the tolerable upper intake for adults at 300 µg a day. A single 100 g portion of grenadier exceeds it. It is not dangerous as a one-off, but it rules out making it a weekly habit.
Excess selenium is not harmless. Chronic overconsumption causes selenosis: brittle nails, hair loss, digestive problems. The threshold is reached much faster than with most nutrients.
68.9 kcal: one of the lightest fish in the database. With 15.4 g of protein, the ratio is still good, even if it is below that of cod.
Its flesh is very fragile. Cook it gently and briefly, steamed or in a parcel, otherwise it falls apart. This is the weakness of deep-sea fish, whose tissues are adapted to pressure.
Deep-sea fishing: a real issue. Deep-sea species breed late and slowly, which makes them very vulnerable. Deep-sea trawling below 800 metres has been banned in Europe since 2016.