AlaskOmega Brand Imposes Even Stricter Fish-Oil Freshness Standards

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Omega-3 supplier Organic Technologies (Coshocton, OH) is raising its own standards for fish oil freshness even further. The company recently announced that it is tightening its Total Oxidation (TOTOX) specification limit significantly for its entire AlaskOmega fish oil line. TOTOX is an industry-wide value measuring oil freshness and accounts for both primary and secondary oil oxidation.

Knowing that AlaskOmega TOTOX values are usually somewhere between 0 and 3, the company has set a high standard for itself-a maximum-limit TOTOX value of 5 for its entire line, officially ensuring a very high freshness level henceforth.

For comparison, the industry-standard TOTOX limit set by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED) is 26-much higher than the TOTOX of 5 that Organic Technologies plans to adhere to.

“Lowering the TOTOX limit on all AlaskOmega products will help us better represent the superior freshness of our omega-3 ingredients,” said Steve Dillingham, global director for AlaskOmega Ingredients, in a press release. “Fresher oil translates into better product stability, longer shelf life, and optimal sensory characteristics for finished goods incorporating AlaskOmega,” resulting in fresher and better-tasting retail products, he added.

The company says it is able to meet such a strict TOTOX target because of its “careful and unique” supply chain: “Raw oil is extracted from the trimmings of MSC-certified Wild Alaska Pollock sourced from the Bering Sea immediately after catch, so raw material is of the highest quality. The oil is then processed through a careful purification and concentration process in the company’s NSF-certified manufacturing facility to extract and purify EPA and DHA concentrates to high purity levels (80% EPA + DHA). Products are kept away from oxygen throughout the entire process…”

Jennifer Grebow
Editor-in-Chief
Nutritional Outlook magazine
jennifer.grebow@ubm.com