The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7193 p487-492
13 April 2002

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Fish oil capsules exceed European dioxin limit to be enacted on 1 July 2002

Out of 15 brands of fish oil capsules analysed by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 10 contained levels of dioxins above the maximum limit set out by an EC regulation that comes into force on 1 July. However, Dr Wayne Anderson, chief specialist in food science at the FSAI, said that there is no risk of consumers exceeding tolerable levels of dioxins from consuming fish oil capsule supplements if taken in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The new regulation is part of the EC's feed and food safety strategy and directs that an overall reduction of human exposure to dioxins by at least 25 per cent should be achieved by 2006. The FSAI study also showed that brands containing fish liver oil were higher in dioxins than those containing fish body oils.

One of the products tested, Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, contained over 10 times the maximum amount. However, the FSAI results are batch dependent and cannot be used to determine levels of contamination in batches not tested. Marie Kendall, marketing manager at Solgar Vitamins Ltd, said that the company was surprised to see the FSAI report because Solgar has assurances from its raw material suppliers that levels are much lower than those in the FSAI report. Ms Kendall stressed that although its product is not currently in breach of any statutory limits, the company has suspended sales of the product until the matter can be resolved.

Manufacturers of products with lower levels may be obtaining their fish oil from sources that can guarantee low dioxin levels or employing a refining process to remove dioxins from the oil used for capsules. Of the capsules tested, Seven Seas One-a-day Pure Cod Liver Oil had the lowest dioxin levels. The company has attributed this to the refinement process it uses. "Some manufacturers are able to supply products that are well below the new European limits, therefore, all manufacturers must work to achieve low dioxin levels," Dr Anderson said. The FSAI will re-examine products after 1 July.

A summary of the FSAI investigation can be found here.