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Fish oil companies have contested environmentalist claims that their products are not in compliance with US laws. (Photo: FIS)
Fish oil companies respond to lawsuit
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 00:10 (GMT + 9)
Some national producers of omega-3 fish oil and specialty fish meal products said last week that their products are in full compliance with US laws. The companies released their statements in response to a lawsuit filed in California against eight dietary supplement brands and retailers for their failure to display the contents of the toxic chemical polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) on their product labels.
Omega Protein Corporation, Coromega, Pharmavite, Solgar and NOW Foods are among the defendants being sued by green group Ecojustice and non-profit consumer rights organisation Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation.
The amount of the carcinogenic and birth defect-causing chemical PCB in omega-3 products of various brands exceeds the limits posed by California’s Proposition 65 rules, according to the plaintiffs. They are requesting that the defendants cease manufacturing the products containing high levels of PCBs.
Omega stated that its “products are in full compliance with all federal laws promulgated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), standards of the European Commission (EC) and the labelling requirements of California's Proposition 65. In addition, the Company's products meet the rigorous standards for quality promulgated by both the Centre for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the Global Organisation for EPA and DHA Omega-3's (GOED).”
Although Omega representatives have been cooperating with the plaintiffs to provide information, the firm claimed to disagree with the plaintiffs’ “methods of measuring PCBs, the level of PCBs at which a warning would be required, testing protocols and applicable industry standards.”
GOED argued that although 93 per cent of refined fish oils on the US market are produced safely from anchovies and sardines and had PCB content well within the Safe Harbour provisions of Proposition 65, the plaintiffs only tested one of these types of oils.
“Our anchovy and sardine fish oil is purified through molecular distillation, which removes environmental contaminants such as PCBs to levels well below the stringent limit for PCBs defined by California’s Proposition 65,” said Frank Morley, president and COO of Coromega.
On Omega-3 Awareness Day, GOED pointed out that thousands of omega-3 products were third-party verified. Executive Director Adam Ismail noted that consumers can access the International Fish Oil Standards programme online for related information.
Vice President of scientific and regulatory affairs at CRN Dr Douglas MacKay said the lawsuit represents “misguided energy” because no adverse events have taken place.
“California is very aggressive against contaminants but Proposition 65 is about labelling not safety and the levels established in it are much lower than any other regulatory body in the US accepts including the FDA,” he said. “In fact, this industry is among the highest quality and most transparent of all consumer products,” he assured.
Related article:
- Fish oil companies sued for deceiving consumers
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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