How to assess the quality of fish oil

Different classifications result in different test winners

There are several ways to classify omega-3 supplements. Of course, everyone who sells supplements claims to have the best product, so how can you as a consumer make an informed choice? In this article, we write about some different ways of classifying an oil and what we think. Examples of classifications are:

• FF/DS (Functional Food/Dietary Supplement)
• TOTOX (Total Oxidation - See separate fact box for formula at the bottom of the page)
• Cold pressed/not cold pressed
• Fermented/non-fermented
• Wild fish/farming
• Synthetic/natural
• Fatty acid composition

  

FF/DS and TOTOX

A common way of classifying omega-3 supplements is whether the oil is so-called DS or FF. When classifying oil here, you look at something called TOTOX. TOTOX is a measurement that shows how much of the fatty acids have been oxidized. Oxidized fatty acids can damage our cells. A low TOTOX is therefore a great advantage. High TOTOX is considered by GOED to be above 26. GOED is a trade organization for omega-3 manufacturers.

FF Oil, or Functional Food Oil, is an oil that can be used in food products. It has no taste or smell of fish and should have a TOTOX of less than 5. DS oil is really everything else. At first glance, it sounds like FF is what you should go for when buying fish oil. In this article, we want to argue that there are good and bad products in both classes and that this classification alone is not sufficient. There is also no evidence that TOTOX between 5 and 26 is harmful to health. The fish oil used in SanOmega has a standardized TOTOX of 9.8.

Looking only at the TOTOX value of newly produced oil (which is the time everyone measures) will not tell you anything:

1. How is TOTOX on finished product?
2. The fatty acid profile of the fish oil itself

 

TOTOX is measured when the oil is newly produced. In other words, before bottling.

A good example of how this can be misrepresented is cold-pressed, fresh oils that will have very low TOTOX readings. They come out as test winners when only the TOTOX of newly produced oil is measured.

After production, there are several factors that have an impact. Exposure to oxygen, light and heat, and also how easily the oil itself oxidizes. Cold-pressed oils can withstand less oxygen, light and heat before they go rancid than hot-pressed oils. This is due to the content of other reactive substances that are associated with the chemically unstable omega-3 fatty acids in cold-pressed oils. The actual TOTOX value may therefore be completely different at the time of consumption.

 

As the rancidity increases, you can taste that it tastes progressively worse. It's easy to taste liquid oils. Capsules can be split in half and tasted. This is a good idea if you choose capsules.

 

Then we come to the use of carrier oils. We use MCT in SanOmega because it works very well to keep the oil stable. These are chemically stable saturated fatty acids. This in turn means that it takes longer from opening the bottle until the oil is actually rancid than it does if you use, for example, olive oil or no oil. Of course, the use of antioxidants also comes into play here; vitamin E, beta-carotene, etc.

 

Why do we actually take omega-3 fatty acid supplements?

Here you will find a link to fatty acid synthesis. Open this before reading further

The most important reason for taking omega-3 supplements is the anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fatty acids. Here, the omega-3 fatty acid EPA is converted into the anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. These are balanced against the pro-inflammatory eicosanoids from the omega-6 side. Fatty acid synthesis converts EPA into DPA and then DHA, so that the need for these fatty acids is met at the same time.

DPA is typically found in large quantities in seal oil. This has good effects on joints. It makes the blood platelets less sticky and produces fewer inflammatory products. DHA is abundant in cod liver oil and in the fish species that swim in the oceans up here in the north. EPA is abundant in younger fish that swim in the coldest waters in the southern hemisphere. The colder the water, the slower the fatty acid synthesis in the fish's body. Therefore, we get a lot of EPA from young fish, from ice-cold water. In addition, this fish (anchovies) is an algae eater, and thus also the first fish species in the food chain. The algae produce EPA, which in turn is eaten by the anchovy. The anchovy is the first fish in the food chain and has the advantage of being supplied with large amounts of EPA. As the anchovy falls prey to larger fish, the synthesis in the animals moves up the food chain. When we reach the top, there is significantly less EPA and more DPA and DHA in the animals. Small fish also produce fewer environmental toxins. This means that you don't need as "intense" purification of the oil.

The EPA that is not converted to anti-inflammatory eicosanoids is converted to DPA and then to DHA. We've done a lot of measurements and hardly anyone lacks DHA. EPA, on the other hand, is very common to have too little of because it is consumed continuously. DHA is an end product in the synthesis.

The fermentation of fish oils deserves a small paragraph at the very end before we summarize.

What does fermentation do? Well it is to start the digestion of foods outside the body to increase the bioavailability of nutrients or to break down indigestible compounds.

When it comes to fermenting oils, rancidity of omega-3 fatty acids will be the result. This is not desirable if the oil is to be used for nutritional purposes. This can be directly harmful to the body. We know that there is one product of this type on the market. We have had it analyzed in a laboratory and the rancidity, i.e. the TOTOX value, was so high that it exceeded the measuring scale. The scale on the measuring device that was used goes to 100.  

 

In summary, we think this is important:

• The amount of EPA and the amount of the other fatty acids.
• The ratio between EPA and DHA. There should be significantly more EPA (ref fatty acid synthesis)
• Fish type: Less fish = less pollutants
• TOTOX on fish oil below 26
• Are they natural or synthetic oils? Natural is of course always preferable.
• If they are synthetic oils: Is it in triglyceride form? It should be.
• Which carrier oils are used? Olive oil, for example, will destroy the fatty acids from the fish oil.
• The quantity and quality of added micronutrients also affect what the consumer actually gets for their money.

 

See here what the Norwegian Food Safety Authority wrote about the purification of oils in 2019: https://www.sanomega.as/blogs/news/ikke-nodvendigvis-lurt-med-kaldpresset-olje