What Does "Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil" Mean?

It really is time that you seriously considered starting daily Omega 3 fish oil supplements. There is now overwhelming evidence of the health benefits of taking daily Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the form of supplements. Yet when you start to research this on the Web you keep finding that you come across the term "pharmaceutical grade fish oil" or else the term "pharmaceutical grade Omega 3".

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

In fact the term pharmaceutical grade is not a technical term but simply a marketing term. It is used to convince potential buyers that the fish oil used in any particular Omega 3 capsules is pure and clean.

There are very good reasons for the Omega 3 supplement manufacturers to advertise the purity of their fish oil. Fish and fish oil can be contaminated with Mercury and PCBs and the FDA tells us not to eat too much this reason.

Because of this contamination of fish and fish oil many people are reasonably concerned that any supplements may be similarly contaminated. So manufacturers of Omega 3 capsules used the term "pharmaceutical grade Omega 3" to suggest that their fish oil is totally pure.

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 are no international standards that are binding on the fish oil supplement manufacturers specifying fish oil purity. I said "binding" because in fact there are a number of international standards on fish oil purity but none of them are binding on any manufacturers of Omega 3 supplements.

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.

You're quite right to worry about fish oil purity but don't be fooled by any claims about "pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements". It's a marketing term. Always satisfy yourself about the purity of your Omega 3 fish oil capsules with independent evidence from laboratory analysis.