Leading worldwide omega-3 advocacy group GOED has published new guidelines on oxidation control to help minimize the problem through best-practice procedures.
GOED says that the oxidation of omega-3s has been frequently commented on topic in the media leading to confusion about what oxidation is, how it happens and the repercussions of consuming an oxidized product.
GOED’s Gerard Bannenberg, director of compliance & scientific outreach and coordinator of GOED’s Technical Committee, which assisted in the guidelines, commented, “Because oxidation can happen at any stage of handling an EPA/DHA-containing oil or finished product, these best-practice guidelines provide specific approaches on how to handle, store, and sample omega-3 products. Implementing these tactics can significantly improve product quality and reduce the risk that products reaching consumers are out of specifications for oxidation.”
The guidelines are intended to assist GOED members and the omega-3 industry as a whole but do not replace GOED’s Voluntary Monograph, which specifies the maximum limits of oxidation for the ingredients and products that fall within its scope.
As background, this is the third set of technical and analytical documents GOED has released to help the industry.
- The GOED Voluntary Monograph was developed in 2002 to serve as the industry definition of quality. The standard, to which GOED members are required to adhere, is the strictest in the world and helps ensure consumers have access to high quality products.
- In 2015 GOED then developed a Technical Guidance Document to assist GOED members in choosing appropriate analytical test methods and working with various types of omega-3 oils.