Fish oil calamity looms as hygiene rules kick in

The European market for omega-3 fish oils could be wiped out overnight unless regulators change EU hygiene laws, suppliers have warned.

A recent amendment to EU Regulation 853/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs states that from October 31 2007, crude or refined fish oil imported into the EU for use in foods or supplements for human consumption will be subject to strict hygiene rules covering production, storage and transportation. Premises will in turn need to be audited to gain certificates proving that they meet the new standards.

As the vast majority of fish oil went into the animal feed market, there was little incentive for suppliers to spend a fortune upgrading their processes and facilities just to appease the tiny percentage of customers buying it for human consumption, claimed Goed, a global trade body representing long-chain omega-3 refiners, suppliers and customers.

The industry was not trying to evade hygiene rules, insisted Goed executive director Adam Ismail. "Fish oil is subject to additional cleaning plus hygiene and safety checks further down the supply chain, anyway, if it is going to go into foods or supplements. The new rules are simply not necessary."

Given that other raw materials with industrial as well as food applications, such as as gelatine, were exempt from the new hygiene rules, fish oils should also be granted a derogation, said Ismail.

"The bizarre thing is that you are allowed to import end products such as fish oil supplements into the EU, even if the crude oil from which they are derived is not from approved premises." Hardly any producers in Peru, a major source of supply, had obtained the new hygiene certificates for their fish oil operations, he said.

"We are lobbying hard to make MEPs understand how serious a problem this is."