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Some fish oil supplements on Canadian shelves may have oxidized and gone rancid, which some experts say means they should not be consumed. But it's not always easy for consumers to tell which products have degraded.
Fish oil supplements have become a booming $200-million a year market in Canada, as many consumers try to increase their intake of omega-3 fats to benefit their cardiovascular and brain health.
But a Marketplace investigation of popular supplements raises concerns about the freshness of fish oils on the market.
In the first investigation of its kind in Canada, Marketplace tested popular vitamins and supplements, including vitamin C, fish oil and protein powder, to see if what is on the label is actually what is in the bottle.
"Fish oil is a very hard product to keep shelf-stable," says Neil Thanedar, founder and CEO of LabDoor, the company that analyzed the findings for Marketplace.
Thanedar says that even products that still have a long time before their expiration date are not, necessarily, still fresh.
Oils can degrade
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in a variety of fatty fish such as salmon.
Of seven fish oil products tested, Marketplace found that four showed signs of oxidation. When oils are stored incorrectly, or exposed to oxygen, light or heat, they can degrade and become rancid.
Even products that still have a long time before their expiration date are not, necessarily, still fresh, says Neil Thanedar, founder and CEO of LabDoor, the company that analyzed findings for Marketplace. (CBC)
"Fish oil is a polyunsaturated fatty acid; it has multiple double bonds. So it's very vulnerable to oxygen, light and other conditions," says Preston Mason, a biochemist at Harvard Medical School.
One product, Nature's Bounty Omega-3, had twice Health Canada's allowable limit for oxidation. Above that limit, fish oil loses its health benefits, the agency says.
"Fish oil that has oxidized above the maximum limits is highly unlikely to have any health benefit, and in fact, such oxidized lipids contribute to cardiovascular diseases and should be avoided," Mason says.
Some experts say that oxidized oils are more difficult for the body to process, and could be especially difficult for people who have a history of heart problems. But little research has been done on oxidized fish oil.
Health benefits
NBTY, which makes the Nature's Bounty fish oil supplement, says consumers should not be alarmed.
'We do everything we possibly can across every part of the supply chain to ensure that the product is handled properly until it gets to our customers,' says David Largey, vice-president of global quality at NBTY. (CBC)
"All products age," David Largey, vice-president of global quality at NBTY, told Marketplace's Erica Johnson.
"We do everything we possibly can across every part of the supply chain to ensure that the product is handled properly until it gets to our customers."
NBTY said its fish oil is safe to consume and effective, even when it shows signs of oxidation.
"Highly unsaturated fatty acids make fish oil products particularly susceptible to oxidative deterioration. This natural aging process would not impact on the safety or efficacy," the company wrote in a statement.
Eating fish a better option: expert
While evidence shows that eating fish is associated with some health benefits, experts are divided on the benefits of taking a fish oil supplement.
'Buy that fish at the fish market, you've got your own quality metric,' says Dr. David Agus, a bestselling author and professor of medicine. (CBC)
Dr. David Agus, bestselling author of The End of Illness and a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California, says this is another reason to get nutrients from food.
"Very simply, whenever you expose fish oil to air and to light, there starts to be degradation, which leads towards rancidity," he says. "Whereas buy that fish at the fish market, you've got your own quality metric: You poke it, you smell it and you ask when it came in and you know if it's good or not."
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