Take a walk through a supermarket in any wealthy nation and the promise of omega-3 health benefits screams off products from bread to milk to juice. But are consumers getting the superfood they paid for?
“Consumers don’t understand what it is,” Vivian Tysse, sales manager with Norwegian fish-oil producer Denomega, said at a health ingredients trade show in Paris this month.
Processed foods labeled with nutritious omega-3 fatty acids can contain anything from Peruvian anchovy oil, Norwegian cod liver oil, micro algae produced in vats, or prairie flaxseed.
Added to other foods, omega-3 pledges to deliver the health benefits of fish oil without its smell or taste. And scientific literature links the acids to cardiovascular protection and generally better heart, brain and eye health.
But the nutrition industry says there is continuing confusion around the additives.
Unless cleared up, the world will continue to face “a high risk of chronic disease that costs health care systems trillions of dollars,” said Adam Ismail, executive director of the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED).
According to GOED, a trade group based in Salt Lake City, “omega-3” is a blanket term that misleads consumers because it refers to three separate fatty acids — EPA, DHA and ALA — which do not perform in the same way.
While in most countries ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which is derived from plant sources such as flaxseed, can be labeled “omega-3,” it does not carry the same nutritional punch as EPA and DHA.
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are longer chain fatty acids derived from marine sources such as oily fish, while DHA can also be taken from micro algae.
“Consumers don’t really get the difference, but it’s EPA and DHA that your body really needs,” said Ian Lucas, executive vice-president of innovation and strategy at Ocean Nutrition Canada, an omega-3 fish-oil producer.
Nutritional balance can be achieved by eating about two portions of oily fish, containing both EPA and DHA, per week, according to Tysse.
“But people don’t eat enough fish,” said Tysse of Norway, so omega-3 added foods are “the next best way.”
Producers of omega-3 fish oil hail Sweden’s recent decision to essentially ban use of the term “omega-3” on food packaging meaning food manufacturers there will now have to specify which of the three fatty acids their product contains.
EAT MORE FISH
“Consumers need to be informed and make their own choice,” said Philip Fass, executive director of industry and commercial relations at Martek Biosciences Corporation, a US manufacturer of oil from micro algae rich in DHA.
Martek has avoided some of the omega-3 confusion by branding its ingredients as “Life’s DHA” on major food brand labels from Yoplait to Minute Maid.
But if consumers are confused, the industry itself offers little clarity.
Contrary to the message issued by fish-oil producers, Martek for instance claims DHA works alone as a nutrient. “We believe that DHA supplies all the health benefits you need,” said Fass.
Meanwhile suppliers of plant-derived omega-3s claim their ingredients are more appealing to consumers and safer than fish products.
Fish-oil producers counter that contaminants found in fish are sifted out of the oil and that new technologies such as micro-encapsulation — which turns fish oil into a long lasting powder — have removed obstacles of putting fish oil into food.
“Now you can put fish oil into food without affecting the taste,” said Lucas.
The fish-oil industry upholds its product as having an optimum ratio of EPA/DHA, mirroring the traditional oily fish diet that Danish researchers in the 1970s attributed to a low incidence of coronary heart disease among the Inuit.
That discovery paved the way for research into omega-3 and a booming global industry, where fish-oil producers say that by reaching into more and more food brands they can return an essential building block to human nutrition.
“We’re not adding something to the diet, but giving it back,” said Tysse, while admitting consumers might not be clear as to exactly what they are getting back.
This month Taiwan received a brutal Christmas present as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) passed all three of its desired amendments, making recalls of elected officials more difficult, gutting the Constitutional Court and altering the budgetary allocations to local governments. The nation at present has no ultimate authority to determine the constitutionality of government actions, and the local governments, largely controlled by the KMT, have much greater funding. We are staring into an abyss of chaos. The amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), if they become law (as of this writing President William Lai
When the weather is too cold to enjoy the white beaches and blue waters of Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁), it’s the perfect time to head up into the hills and enjoy a different part of the national park. In the highlands above the bustling beach resorts, a simple set of trails treats visitors to lush forest, rocky peaks, billowing grassland and a spectacular bird’s-eye view of the coast. The rolling hills beyond Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County offer a two-hour through-hike of sweeping views from the mighty peak of Dajianshih Mountain (大尖石山) to Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔) on the coast, or
Charges have formally been brought in Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) bribery, corruption and embezzling of campaign funds cases. Ko was briefly released on bail by the Taipei District Court on Friday, but the High Court on Sunday reversed the decision. Then, the Taipei District Court on the same day granted him bail again. The ball is in dueling courts. While preparing for a “year ahead” column and reviewing a Formosa poll from last month, it’s clear that the TPP’s demographics are shifting, and there are some indications of where support for the party is heading. YOUNG, MALE
Something strange happened in former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) second term: She remained popular. According to My-Formosa.com polling at the time, she scored high on trustworthiness and satisfaction with her governance spiked at the beginning of her second term, then in the remaining three years stabilized into a range of the upper forties to mid-fifties. This is especially remarkable since her second term was marred by several scandals, which resulted in an electoral drubbing for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the 2022 local elections — the worst result since the party’s founding. Most politicians around the world would salivate
RSS