By Suzanne Shelton
When the first scientific study on the benefits of fish oil was published in a British scientific journal in 1783, only a handful of people knew about it. With today’s media coverage of health research and easy access to information via the Internet, millions of people know about the benefits of long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs), most commonly sourced from fish oil. Recent industry figures peg fish oil as the fastest growing supplement in the health food channel, and the second fastest growing in the food/drug/mass sector. This is one of the few products in the dietary supplement category getting consistently positive media coverage, based upon continuing emergence of affirmative studies on health benefits. But as has been the case in the past, when demand for a hot product escalates, ingredient buyers must increase their vigilance and knowledge accordingly to protect quality and efficacy.
To assist in this effort, many suppliers are taking steps on their own and in concert with the association Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) to develop tools to support ingredient buyer expertise. “As the market grows, buyers need to be sure that fish oils are suitable to meet quality standards, and manufacturing facilities are HACCP approved,” noted Alejandro Diaz, operations manager for Originates, a supplier of concentrated omega-3s.
Hogne Vik, M.D., Ph.D., EVP, documenter, Aker BioMarine, seconded, “Buyers should know what kind of product they buy, represented by what kind of starting material that has been used for the ingredient, where the material has been taken and how clean it is (e.g., pollutions, dioxins and heavy metals). Further, a guarantee related to the given specifications of the oil content of omega-3 should accompany the product.”
One of the earliest moves to help define the category was GOED’s developing and publishing a monograph defining long-chain omega-3s. The monograph reads, in part, “Omega-3 fatty acid products may be found with DHA as the predominant fatty acid, EPA as the predominant fatty acid or mixtures of DHA and EPA in varying combinations.” The monograph also includes detailed information on purity testing and qualitative assays for both docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Testing is a key part of responsible sourcing, as there are several quality issues for fish oil intended for human consumption. Among those cited by Diaz were freshness/oxidation level (expressed as peroxide value, anisidine value and totox value); digestibility (i.e., acid value or percentage of free fatty acids); purity from contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, harmful microorganisms, etc.; and EPA and DHA level expressed as weight percentage.
The most basic—and the original—version of modern fish oil is triglyceride, referred to as fish oil 30 percent triglyceride form. The “30 percent” described the combined total amount of EPA (18 percent) and DHA (12 percent) found in fish oil. The issue of ratios came to light around 2006, when the ratio inexplicably changed, based upon environmental influence no one really could explain, to 22 percent EPA and 8 percent DHA. “The tricky part is that natural fish oil is not consistent in terms of ratios of EPA and DHA, and doesn’t always add up to 30 percent,” Diaz said.
