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Omega-3 - Can you believe its not lard?
Jess Halliday
Consumers concerned about the quality of fish oil in their omega-3 supplements should quiz the brand marketer over the source, says chairman of GOED omega-3, a trade association that aims to maintain standards of the ingredient.
GOED Omega-3 was formed last summer out of the Council For Responsible Nutrition's omega-3 working group this summer. The working group had been active since 2001, and drew up a voluntary monograph to set out standards, including oxidative parameters and a measurement of man-made pollutants (lead and mercury).
Members of GOED Omega-3 – mostly fish oil suppliers – must sign an affidavit that their product adheres to the standards. According to GOED Omega-3 chairman Robert Orr, the association's membership makes up 90 per cent of the North American and European supply landscape.
However UK supplement company First Vitality claims that some products present on the UK market are "full of toxins and saturated fat", as a result of manufacturers cutting costs by using inferior oils, in a bid to capitalise on the explosion of consumer interest in the healthy ingredient.
David Ferguson of First Vitality told NutraIngredients.com that fish oil is entering the marketplace from obscure places, with no quality control.
"A lot of companies have climbed on the band-wagon and buy from the cheapest possible source," he said.
This, he said, results in finished products being sold for around £4 or £5 (€6 to €7.50) alongside others for £15 or £18 (€22 to €26). The consumer may not understand the difference and, if they plump for the cheaper version, realise no health benefits.
First Vitality says consumers can find out whether their omega-3 supplements contain a high proportion of saturated fat by placing them in the freezer for 24 hours. It says that if the capsules turn cloudy then they could be "capsules of lard".
But Robert Orr, chairman of GOED Omega-3, told NutraIngredients.com: "If you are getting it from a reputable supplier, this is nonsense."
His advice to consumers anxious about the quality of the supplements they have purchased is to ask the brand manager where they source their omega-3 and access GOED Omega-3's website at www.goedomega3.com, which lists all the suppliers that have signed the affidavit.
"Any brand manufacturer, unless they are unscrupulous in and of themselves, can pick any one and know that the product is safe."
Under the GOED Omega-3 monograph, the limits for lead, cadmium, mercury and inorganic arsenic are 0.1mg per kg each.
As for saturated fats, Orr said that there are two grades of fish oil that are acceptable under the monograph, with different amounts of saturated fats removed by a chilling process called 'winterisation'.
Standard fish oil contains 30 per cent DHA/EPA and has around 25 to 30 per cent saturated fat.
"If put in the fridge it won't cloud, but it will in a freezer."
High concentrate fish oil, by contrast, has 50 to 70 per cent DHA/EPA. More of the shorter chain fatty acids have been removed and saturated fat is 5 per cent or less. This will not cloud in a freezer.
"High concentration fish oil does cost more, but you get more DHA/EPA. The lower concentration is in no way harmful, and it's certainly not lard," said Orr.
"Any brand marketer trying to save five or 10 cents or pennies and not use a recommended or validated organisation as a supplier is doing the consumer a disservice."
At present GOED Omega-3's 21-strong membership is made up mostly of suppliers. But it aims to have 50 members by the end of the year, and expects many of newcomers to be manufacturers.
This may lead to the development of a brand marketers' certification programme, which would make it still easier for consumers to check on oil origin.
Ferguson said that he would like to see independent test data alongside all products, so that consumers can immediately tell what they are buying.
"We want to see pharmaceutical grade fish oil separated from the cooking grade. The consumer is being misled."
Orr said that fish oil prices did increase a little about a year ago, prices are presently stable and no dramatic rises are anticipated.
Crude fish oil is a by-product of fish stock. In fact, the biggest user is not the human nutrition industry but aquaculture industry. Thus, prices are likely to increase only if aquaculture demand goes up dramatically.
"We have some forecasting and we don't see any major increases that the consumer would have to bear," said Orr.
Current prices range from $4 to $40 per kilo (€3 to €30), depending on concentration.
Source: Food Production Daily
Strong demand for fishmeal
World fishmeal production in 2006, at 5 million tonnes, was 20% below average levels-a consequence of climatic conditions and reduced fishing effort to conserve stocks. Prices virtually doubled as a result, driven by continued strong demand in expanding worldwide aquaculture markets.
Feed makers still recognise the nutritional benefits of fishmeal. Despite high prices and availability of synthetic alternatives, fishmeal continues to be viewed as a vital feed ingredient for farm livestock, and is still widely used in pig and poultry diets.
In the UK, for example, official UK statistics show 2006 consumption on a par with 2005, and a recent FIN (Fishmeal Information Network) survey of pig producers confirmed that fishmeal is still widely used in pig feeds, especially in medication-free weaner and early grower diets.
Insurance policy
At an average price ratio of 1:5 against soy meal, fishmeal’s continued inclusion defies all previous rules of thumb, yet farmers point to its critical role as an ‘insurance policy’ in maintaining fertility and herd health.
Fishmeal prices have now peaked and are forecast to come down this year with a return to more normal production levels of 6 to 6.5 million tonnes.
Challenge to fishmeal
But high prices have not been the only challenge. In 2001, feeding fishmeal to ruminants in the EU was banned as part of BSE control measures. Initial concerns that fishmeal could contain infected meat and bone meal fuelled wider political debate about the sustainability of fish stocks and the ethics of feeding non-vegetable proteins to farm livestock.
A unique partnership between GAFTA and the Sea Fish Industry Authority, FIN was set up to promote fishmeal in the face of such pressures.
Drawing on factual evidence and independent sources of information, FIN has consistently highlighted the quality and integrity of fishmeal, its production and its responsible sourcing from managed non-food fish stocks and food fish trimmings.
Ban relief
With no scientific evidence to link fishmeal with BSE-type conditions, FIN has supported efforts to keep fishmeal on the European agenda since the 2001 ban.
In December 2006, a common text was finally agreed between the EU parliament and Council which paves the way, firstly for fishmeal to be used in multi-species mills, and secondly for fishmeal to be permitted once again in the diets of young ruminants. This will be welcome news for many livestock farmers.
Effects
The effects of fishmeal’s withdrawal from ruminant feed were highlighted in a recent FIN survey of Scottish hill sheep farmers, more than 90% of whom wanted to use fishmeal again.
Most had encountered major difficulties in maintaining the milkiness of ewes without fishmeal, and some reported an increase in serious welfare problems, including lamb mortality and hypocalcaemia, or ‘staggers’ in breeding ewes.
Source: Pig Progress
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