The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has a lot of Americans worried about the safety of available seafood, especially on the East Coast of the country. Sure, it’s easy enough to curb your consumption of fresh shrimp from the bayou… but what about your fish oil?
Is fish oil at risk?
Quite frankly, yes. Fish oil supplements are just as susceptible to pollution and contaminants as seafood. And, since manufacturers are not policed by health officials as strictly as seafood is, you should be extra careful when choosing a fish oil supplement to buy.
Moreover, OmegaProtein is the largest producer of fish oil in the U.S. and produces fish oil products and supplements for many different companies and brands. What’s scary is that they get nearly 70% of their fish oil from the Gulf. This is why it is so important to be a smart consumer!
A recent news story reports that Omega Protein filed suit against BP. They’re not saying how much they’re asking for, but it’s likely to be a substantial amount. While BP believes that the spill is finally contained, consequences from the nearly 3-month-long environmental disaster promise to linger.
Perhaps now more than ever, it is exceedingly important to be an educated consumer. The truth is, manufacturers DO have the ability to produce fish oil with higher levels of purity and concentration than what’s typically sold in health food stores. So, how can you know if you’re buying the best fish oils? Check for a rating from the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS). IFOS sets the highest standard for fish oils, which independently tests batches of supplements upon the manufacturer’s request.
Are your fish oil supplements safe?
- Check for a five-star IFOS rating.g
- Make sure there’s no fishy smell.ll.
- Pop one of your capsules in the freezer. High-quality supplements only contain fish oil & may harden when chilled, but won’t freeze at normal freezer temp.s
What’s the real story with seafood from the Gulf?
According to reporters at AOL News who’ve spent two weeks tracking down the people doing the testing and trying to understand how they’re deciding whether or not it’s safe. Here’s what they found:
- BP & focus-groups want public health experts to give seafood from this area a stamp of approval to “halt further erosion of the industry’s reputation”
- Fishermen want to keep selling safe seafood so they don’t lose customers
- Public officials want to keep people safe
- To date, no contaminants have been found
What is being done to protect consumers?
Leaders from many organizations, including but not limited to: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), met recently to come up with a game plan for contaminated seafood. Their strategy is to close the waters that are polluted to prevent tainted seafood from reaching consumers and to reopen them once fishing is safe. You can read the full FDA press release below.
While I’m glad these agencies are stepping up to the plate and are committed to ensuring our safety, I must say my fears are far from eased by their measures. Between the recent E.Coli scares and “under-processed” Spaghetti-O’s (I didn’t even know you could under-process a Spaghetti-O…) all over the news, I find it a little scary to think about eating fish from the Gulf.