Fish Oil Makers and Sellers Sued Over Toxic Supplements

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Fish Oil Makers and Sellers Sued Over " Toxic " Supplements

Posted on Mar 4th 2010 11:00AM by Voltolina

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

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If you're one of the many people who rely on fish oil supplements for their

magical omega-3 powers and health benefits -- like aiding in the battle against

bad cholesterol, reducing weight, and helping with heart function, muscle repair

and growth -- you might be interested in the lawsuit that has recently been

served to fish oil makers and sellers.

On Tuesday in the San Francisco Supreme Court, plaintiffs charged fish oil

makers and sellers with not disclosing products containing high levels of PCB

(polychlorinated biphenyls), according to Reuters. " People buy fish oil to

improve their health, " said plaintiff's attorney Roe in a teleconference

with reporter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. " We have no way of

knowing if all of the other fish oil products have PCB, too. "

PCBs -- industrial chemicals that were banned back in the '70s because they

cause cancer and birth defects -- are unfortunately one of the cons (like

mercury) to eating copious amounts of omega-3-rich fish. " The people buying

these fish oil supplements are not being told the PCBs are there, " said Roe --

which, according to California's Proposition 65, is illegal. " Consumers who want

the health benefits of fish oil shouldn't also have to take the health risks of

an extremely toxic man-made chemical, " he added. One plaintiff, The Mateel

Environmental Justice Foundation, tested 10 fish oil supplements out of more

than 100 on the market -- and found PCB in all of them. They plan to continue

testing and add names if necessary.

The lawsuit claims that defendants -- including the world's largest producer of

omega-3 fish oil, Houston-based Omega Protein, as well as drug stores Rite Aid

Corp. and CVS Pharmacy, among others -- are in violation of this California

proposition because they failed to mention to customers that the PCB levels in

these products were above zero. Plaintiff Manthey, also of Mateel

Environmental Justice Foundation, even said that while many makers and sellers

say their supplements have been " treated " to remove or reduce PCBs -- there may

still be significant PCBs present. But since they don't say how much PCB

contamination is left after treatment, people don't really know what toxins

they're ingesting.

Of course, this lawsuit has healthy intentions: Companies must either eliminate

PCBs or reduce them below the " safe harbor " limits, as well as disclose that

some fish oil supplements have higher PCB levels than others. Roe said that

preliminary test results show that some fish oil brands have only about 12

nanograms per recommended dose compared to up to 850 nanograms in other samples.

Although these levels may be less than eating a piece of fish, the worry is that

since people take the supplements daily, the daily dose of PCBs over years can

build up and, although the levels may not be high enough to cause cancer, PCBs

can be passed onto developing fetuses and increase the risk for developmental

problems.

Of course, in light of this lawsuit, it's important to remember that not all

supplements are created equal -- particularly since the Food and Drug

Administration has no official standards regarding PCB levels tolerable for fish

for human consumption, said Roe. Even more importantly, the FDA does not oversee

supplements the way they over see drugs, and so the quality, safety and claims

of the ingredients is not scrutinized in the same way as drugs before the

products hit the market.

And, as CBS pointed out, two 2008 reports from " Consumer Reports " and

" ConsumerLab " found no unsafe levels of dioxin, mercury or PCB. So out of the

100-plus fish oil supplements out there, very few may actually contain a toxic

amount of PCB.

If you do decide to go ahead and trash your supplements in favor of the real

thing, the Environmental Defense Fund says there are cooking methods to help

reduce exposure to these toxins in fish. One suggestion is to remove the fat

(found along the back, sides and belly), internal organs, tomalley of lobster

and the mustard of crabs, where toxins are likely to accumulate; another is to

serve less fried fish, since frying seals in chemical pollutants that might be

in the fish's fat, while grilling or broiling allows fat to drain away.

And don't forget about other sources of omega-3s! Walnuts, soybeans and flaxseed

are all great sources of this powerful nutrient.

While this lawsuit puts fish oil supplements under some scrutiny, are vitamin

supplements really dangerous?

8 CommentTags: fish oil supplements, lawsuit, mercury, omega-3, PCB, proposition

65, supplements