After a significant drop in sales in the US over the past year and a half, 2015 should bring some positive news for omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, according to the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED).
“For 2015, GOED anticipates a flurry of domestic as well as international industry-shaping regulatory activity associated with EPA and DHA,” says Harry Rice, PhD, GOED’s vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs and a Nutritional Outlook editorial advisory board member. Rice points to key regulatory developments that will, if they pan out, reinforce to consumers the importance of EPA and DHA intake.
On the international front, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, part of the FAO/WHO that develops international food standards, continues its work to devise a final draft for the first-ever Codex Alimentarius standard for fish oils. Although Codex does not have regulatory power, some countries do adopt Codex standards as their own. The goal now is fine-tuning and reaching a final draft, which the Codex Committee for Fats and Oils has been working to achieve for years. At its 24th session this February, the committee was scheduled to continue discussions on the proposed draft of the standard, including addressing new comments and revisions suggested by omega-3 stakeholders. At its Malaysia meeting earlier this month, Codex decided to include krill, salmon, and menhaden oils in the draft standard.
Meanwhile, last November, the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses approved a proposal to eventually establish a Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) for EPA and DHA omega-3s. A NRV would represent a global recommended intake for these fatty acids, much like a dietary reference intake (DRI) value in the United States. It would, says GOED, underline the importance of EPA and DHA intake to the entire global community.
In the US and Canada, EPA and DHA are being considered for a DRI of their very own. Before deciding on which nutrients will next undergo official DRI review—there are several in contention, in addition to EPA and DHA—a U.S. and Canadian nutrient assessment group is meeting this March to first discuss the use of chronic disease endpoints when setting DRI nutrient values. Because current science on many of the nutrients nominated for DRI reviews includes links to chronic disease, the committees believe they must first decide on how to approach these disease endpoints.
This May should also bring final word on GOED’s long-awaited FDA petition for a health claim linking EPA and DHA with the reduction of blood pressure in the general population. After reviewing the science submitted, FDA decided it will now approach this health claim as a qualified health claim. (As opposed to an authorized health claim, a qualified claim must be accompanied by a disclaimer communicating to consumers the level of scientific evidence supporting the claim.)
