Is There Mercury In Fish Oil Capsules?

Fish oil capsules have allowed so many people to benefit from a healthy heart and a healthy mind. And they’re also a very convenient and reliable way of getting the omega 3 fatty acids that we need every day.

One concern of eating a large amount of fish, is that there may be a risk of mercury intake, depending on location and pollution, especially in fish high in mercury levels.

So the question that's raised now is whether fish oil capsules are a safe alternative.

A study published in 2005 in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, concluded that fish oil capsules may be indeed safer than fish meals when it comes to mercury pollution.

The author commented “the consumption of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids is advocated by the American Heart Association to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. However, fish contain environmental toxins such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine (OC) pesticides, which may negate the beneficial cardiovascular effects of fish meals."

The study then looked at 5 brands of fish oil capsules popularly used, assessed them by gas chromatography and found that none of them contained detectable levels of PCBs or OCs.

The author concluded that “our data concerning the levels of OCs suggest that fish oil supplements may be preferable to fish consumption as a dietary guideline for the general population, and as a therapeutic source of omega-3 fatty acids in patients with cardiovascular disease and depression."

So it seems that fish oil capsules may have an advantage.

Do companies purify their fish oil?

Companies use purification methods such as molecular distillation to ensure that their fish oil has been purified from environmental contaminants.

And many are independently certified safe from the point of view of having safe levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other compounds.

For example, consumerlabs.com, an independent testing company, have over 42 brands of fish oil supplements that have passed their criteria for safe levels of mercury and PCBs, with some also tested for dioxins.

A survey performed by Environmental Defence, released in 30th March 2005, looked at 75 fish oil supplement companies, regarding:

(1) whether they purify their fish oil to reduce or remove environmental contaminants,

(2) what methods they use to purify their fish oil, and

(3) what standards they comply with regarding acceptable levels of contaminants.

The survey found that most of these companies used molecular distillation and steam deodorization technologies to remove environmental pollutants from their fish oil supplements.

Also more than 80% of the companies (61) of them verified that they have met the EPA's and California's Proposition 65 limits of allowable contaminants in food, which were even stricter than the limits of the FDA Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the European Union.

While this was a survey type study rather than a chemical analysis type study as mentioned above, it is good to see that most companies are aware of this issue of environmental toxins, and can verify that they meet these internationally accepted standards of safety.

These comments apply to both fish oil as well as cod liver oil.

And verification is important to check for, when checking out the brand of fish oil capsules.

Whenever possible, go for pharmaceutical grade fish oil