Monday, September 28, 2009

What Does "Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil" Mean?

By Peter Bertonach

So you've decided that there is sufficient evidence about the health benefits of Omega 3 fish oil and that it's time to start taking fishoil capsules. You've been researching Omega 3 on the Web and you keep coming across the term "pharmaceutical grade fish oil" or "pharmaceutical grade Omega 3".

Lets have a look at exactly what "pharmaceutical grade" means or doesn't mean.

Pharmaceutical grade is not a technical term but is a marketing term. Companies that manufacture or sell Omega 3 supplements use it to convince the buyers that the supplements contain pure fish oil without contamination.

There is good reason for them to make this claim because many people now realize that fishoil is generally contaminated with toxins such as Mercury and PCBs and other contaminants and for this reason the FDA recommends that we do not eat too much fish, particularly top of the food chain fish.

As fish is contaminated so are many fishoils and people are concerned that the fishoil in their Omega 3 supplements may also be contaminated. Therefore manufacturers and suppliers of Omega 3 supplements use the term "pharmaceutical grade Omega 3" to indicate the level of purity of their capsules.

But there is no formal definition of what "pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements" actually are. The US Pharmacopeia has no definition of this and there is no other definition anywhere else.

There's no international standards specifying fish oil purity that are binding on any Omega 3 capsule manufacturers. There are 4 international standards on fish oil purity but none of them are binding.

There is one standard called the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS). This sounds very official but the IFOS is purely a private organisation that charges a fee for testing the purity of fish oil.

Whilst there are 4 international standards for fish oil purity no manufacture need comply with any of them. Some manufacturers who submit their fish oil to the IFOS for testing make the claim that their Omega 3 supplements are "pharmaceutical grade Omega3" however as specified earlier this is purely marketing.

However there is the no doubt that anyone looking to take Omega 3 supplements should make careful investigation of purity and cleanliness of any capsules.

If you are on the website of any manufacturer of Omega 3 supplements you should always find a certificate of analysis from an independent laboratory evidencing the results of tests for purity.

On the website of the manufacturer of the best Omega 3 supplements can find a certificate of analysis from two independent laboratories that demonstrates clearly that there are no detectable levels of any contaminants in their fish oil.

And this company also chooses to set it's own standards for its fish oil purity which are much stricter than any international standards. Their standard for Mercury contamination is 10 times lower than the international standards.

The quality and purity of fish oil in all Omega 3 supplements is extremely important and you should always satisfy yourself about the purity of any Omega 3 capsules your looking to take. But don't be fooled into thinking that "pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements" are any more pure than any other supplements.

Visit my website if you're interested to source the worlds cleanest, purest (and best value) Omega 3 fish oil supplements as evidenced by independent laboratory analysis.

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