An industry first: Golden Omega gets Orivo certification for omega-3 concentrates

13-Oct-2017 - Last updated on 17-Oct-2017 at 14:52 GMT

Related tags Fish oil

Chilean omega-3 supplier Golden Omega has become the first omega-3 concentrate producer to obtain a certification from third party verifier Orivo, ensuring pure raw material sourcing.

The testing technology was initially developed by the Norwegian research organization SINTEF, and is based on NMR analysis, explained Orivo. It allows Orivo to verify marine species and region of origin via quality assured sampling protocols.

Orivo has verified that all the raw material involved in Golden Omega’s production is pure anchovy from the South Pacific Ocean. The authenticity will be continuously verified through raw material monitoring, added the company.

Claudio Aracena, commercial director of Golden Omega, commented: “For the first time we are now able to certify through a 3rd party test that our products are based only on authentic anchovy oil from the South Pacific Ocean. We have of course never had doubts about it – we see this rather as a very valuable tool to offer all our clients full transparency about the marine resource that is being used in all our concentrates.

“The feedback so far from our customers is also that this certification will be very valuable and assuring for them and the consumers of their products.”

On-site testing

Orivo and Golden Omega have also launched a major development project, which aims to further strengthen the traceability for Golden Omega’s products all the way into consumer-ready omega-3 concentrates. Through an on-site factory audit combined with thorough sample collection and testing of Golden Omega’s fish oil ingredients, an extensive certification program has been established (see figure below).

“For technical reasons, it is not straightforward to decide the origin of a chemically altered fat molecule such as concentrated omega-3 products are composed of,” explained Erik Fuglseth, Orivo’s CTO. “In order to be able to offer a consumer-ready certification logo on finished products in near future, we have started a very promising project.

“The aim is to confirm that a finished product consisting of pure Golden Omega concentrates matches the chemical fingerprint of oil collected directly from the Golden Omega´s production in Chile. In the longer run, 2-3 years from now, we will be able to authenticity test any concentrate product,” added Fuglseth.

Trade documents, mass balance calculations, and actual ingredient testing are surveyed for the certification.

Svein Erik Haugmo, Orivo’s CEO, stated: “The agreement we have entered with Golden Omega is another major milestone for Orivo. As concentrated omega-3 represents over 40% of the market for human omega-3 supplements, we have had this segment on our development list all the way since our start-up in 2014.

“To have Golden Omega on board as our first client from this segment is especially satisfying, as they are very committed to source crude oils from a single species fishery for their full portfolio of omega 3 concentrates.”