Epax’s $40 million facility upgrades boost distillation capacity and omega-3 concentrate quality

Photo of Epax facility in Aalesund, Norway. Photo from Epax.

Omega-3 ingredients supplier Epax announced it has made $40 million worth of upgrades to its facility in Aalesund, Norway. As part of the upgrade, the facility added “next-level” processing technology that separates individual fatty acids from fish oil and ultra-concentrates them, without using excessive heat or harsh chemicals. The new technology is called EQP+Tech.

According to a company press release, “The black box–protected technology is the result of years of research and development. Using data from over a thousand test runs and analyses, Epax’s process engineers studied the performance of various fatty acids in the company’s high-tech molecular distillation equipment. By finding the optimum balance between pressure, temperature, and time, they identified the best possible way to separate each fatty acid from fish oil while retaining its natural quality.”

The company used information from its research to refine its re-esterification process. It also added new customized equipment, including “highly sophisticated digital technology, with sensors monitoring thousands of data points and making constant adjustments, allowing in-depth tracking of the re-esterification process and ensuring consistent high quality.”

EQP+Tech will enable the company to continue guaranteeing omega-3s with a standard 90%-minimum triglyceride content, as well as help it to develop new high-concentrate omega-3 products.

In the press release, company CEO Bjørn Refsum added, “In omega-3 production, the big question is how you balance the never-ending quest for higher concentration with the need for quality and reproducibility." He said that the new upgrade “takes us to a whole new level” and that “to our knowledge, no one else is using technology as sophisticated as this…”