Is it really pharmaceutical grade?

Comment: Thanks for your comments. It's too bad the FDA in the United States doesn't follow the Canadian model for natural health supplements.

In Canada our government regulates natural health products with the Natural Health Products Regulation Act and it applies to all natural health products sold in Canada.

Natural Health Products (NHP) are regulated on:
* Site licensing;
* Good manufacturing practices;
* Adverse reaction reporting;
* Clinical trials;
* Labeling; and
* Provisions for a full range of health claims that will be supported by evidence.
*Product licensing

Products that fall within these Regulations include herbal remedies, homeopathic medicines, vitamins, minerals, traditional medicines, probiotics, amino acids, omega 3's and essential fatty acids.

In addition, many everyday consumer products, such as certain toothpastes, antiperspirants, shampoos, facial products and mouthwashes are also classified as NHPs in Canada because of their medicinal ingredients and intended uses.

A few fish oils marketed as 'pharmaceutical-grade' have been granted valid Drug Indentification Numbers (DIN) in Canada indicating they've met regulatory approval to be sold in Canada.

It is unfortunate there are companies that will capitalize on this lucrative industry by producing inferior products and using dubious marketing practices.

The FDA distinguishes between supplements and prescription drugs. As supplements are not regulated in the same manner as prescription drugs, the term "pharmaceutical grade" is largely meaningless.

Such terms (along with "ultra pure" and "high potency") are merely marketing language and anyone is free to use them to describe their fish oils.

That's not to say that all oils labeled "pharmaceutical grade" are inferior products. On the contrary, some are very good. Determining which is which can often be a challenge though.

I also don't place a great deal of trust in some of these certifications granted to particular fish oils by entities that appear to work on behalf of the consumer. These alleged 'labs' are actually paid by the companies to test their products and award a certification.

I don't need to tell you that the conflict of interest here doesn't exactly lend a great deal of credibility to some of these certifications. For the most part, poor ratings only go to those companies who decline to contract with these alleged 'labs' to test their products.

And it gets better. Do the reading, and you'll find that these alleged 'labs' often have official sounding names, yet really are no more than just a room in someone's basement, with a mail drop at the local UPS store!

I wish that I had better news for you. The fish oil industry is so full of marketing hype, and the truth can be very challenging to ferret out.

Hi Phil,

As you know, the IFOS is a third-party lab that tests the purity and accuracy of the ingredient labels on fish oils. I'm not sure whether there is any proven scientific research showing fish from Norway are superior to fish caught from South America. I know that some fish migrate all over the world. What's important for me is that the fish oil has been proven to be treated in the correct manner to be labeled as 'Pharmaceutical-grade'.