Fish Oil Supplements

Is The Brand You're Taking Safe?

The public is increasingly turning to fish oil supplements as a source of omega-3 fatty acids. But which major U.S. producers of fish oil supplements purify their products to reduce or remove contaminants like mercury and dioxins?

Environmental Defense Fund solicited information from 75 companies (more details on the criteria we used to evaluate companies and our results). Their responses indicate that the majority are purifying their fish oils to meet stringent safety standards.

• Legend
• Best Choice: Conforms to strictest standards for safe levels of contaminants.
• Incomplete: Responded but did not submit complete data.
• Worst Choice: Does not conform to strictest standards for safe levels of contaminants or did not respond to repeated inquiries.

• Sort by company
  Products
  Sort by Rating
• A&P
  Health Pride
  Best Choice
• Active Nutrition
  Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Albertsons
  Nature's Valley, Sav-On/Albertsons
  Best Choice
• American Health
  Cardiosmart
  Best Choice
• American Health
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Ascenta Health
  NutraSea
  Best Choice
• Bi-Mart
  Bi-Mart
  Best Choice
• California Health
  Omega 3-6-9
  Best Choice
• Cardiotabs
  Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Carlson Laboratories
  Cod Liver Oil softgels, Salmon Oil, Very Finest Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Carlson Laboratories
  Cod Liver Oil liquid
  Best Choice
• Coromega
  Omega-3 Supplement
  Best Choice
• Costco
  Kirkland
  Best Choice
• Country Life
  Omega-3
  Incomplete
• CVS
  CVS Pharmacy
  Best Choice
• Duane Reade
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Eckerd
  Eckerd
  Best Choice
• ehn
  o3mega
  Best Choice
• Enzymatic Therapy
  Eskimo-3
  Best Choice
• Giant Eagle
  Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• GNC
  Cod Liver Oil, DHA 250, Omega Complex
  Best Choice
• GNC
  Fish Body Oils with GLA, Liquid Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, Salmon Oil 1000, Triple Cod Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Good 'N Natural
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Essential Oils, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Good 'N Natural
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Health from the Sun
  PFO Pure Fish Oil, Ultra Potent EPA, Ultra Potent DHA
  Best Choice
• Health from the Sun
  Cod Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Holland & Barrett
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Essential Oils, Fish Oil, Halibut Liver Oil
  Best Choice
• Holland & Barrett
  Salmon Oil, Super EPA, Super Omega
  Incomplete
• Iceland Health
  Cod Liver Oil, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Shark Liver Oil
  Best Choice
• Jarrow Formulas
  Max DHA softgels, Max DHA liquid,'EPA-DHA Balance
  Best Choice
• Kmart
  Kmart
  Worst Choice
• Kroger/Ralphs
  Kroger
  Best Choice
• Leiner Health Products
  Your Life
  Best Choice
• Longs
  Fish Oil Concentrate
  Best Choice
• Major Pharmaceuticals
  Cod Liver Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Major Pharmaceuticals
  Fish Oil
  Incomplete
• McKesson Drugs
  Sunmark
  Best Choice
• Meijer
  Meijer
  Best Choice
• Natrol
  Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Natural Factors
  RxOmega-3 Factors
  Best Choice
• Natural Wealth
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Natural Wealth
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Naturalist
  Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Nature Made/Pharmavite
  Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Nature's Bounty
  Cod Liver Oil, DHA, EPA, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Nature's Bounty
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Nordic Naturals
  Children's DHA, Omega-3, Complete, Omega 3,6,9 Junior, Ultimate Omega, Omega Woman, Cod Liver Oil, EPA, DHA
  Best Choice
• NOW Foods
  Cod Liver Oil (liquid), Omega-3 (liquid)
  Best Choice
• NOW Foods
  Omega-3 (capsules), Ultra Omega-3, Super EPA, DHA 500, Double Strength Cod Liver Oil, Salmon Oil, Shark Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Nutrilite
  Omega-3 Complex
  Best Choice
• Nutrition Warehouse
  EPA, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Nutrition Warehouse
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• NuTru**
  O-Mega-Zen3
  Best Choice
• Ocean Nutrition
  MEG-3
  Best Choice
• Omega Protein *
  Omega Pure*
  Worst Choice
• Pharmanex
  Lifepak nano, MarineOmega, Optimum Omega
  Best Choice
• Physiologics
  Cardiologic, Cartilage Companion, EFA Complex, Omega-3, Triple Omega
  Best Choice
• Physiologics
  Omega-3 HP
  Incomplete
• PhytoPharmica
  Eskimo-3
  Best Choice
• Prevail
  Eskimo-3
  Best Choice
• Price Chopper
  Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Progressive
  Hannford
  Best Choice
• Pronova Biocare
  EPAX
  Best Choice
• Pure Alaska Salmon
  Alaskan Salmon Oil***
  Best Choice
• PureTek
  Cod Liver Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  Incomplete
• Puritan's Pride
  Cod Liver Oil, DHA, EPA, Fish Oil, Halibut Liver Oil, Heart Assure, Joint Maintenance, Omega-3, Shark Liver Oil, Triple Omega
  Best Choice
• Puritan's Pride
  Salmon Oil, Super EPA, Super Omega
  Incomplete
• Quixtar
  Ocean Essentials
  Best Choice
• Radiance
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Radiance
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Rexall Sundown
  EPA/DHA, Fish Oil, Essential Oils/EFA
  Best Choice
• Rexall Sundown
  Salmon Oil
  Incomplete
• Rite Aid
  Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oil, Natural Fish Oil
  Worst Choice
• Safeway
  Safeway Select
  Best Choice
• Sam's Club
  Member’s Mark
  Best Choice
• Shaklee
  Essential Omega-3 Complex
  Best Choice
• Shopko/Topco
  Top Care
  Best Choice
• Shoprite
  Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Solaray
  Salmon Oil, Super purEPA
  Worst Choice
• Solgar
  Max EPA, Omega-3 "700", Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, Shark Liver Oil Complex
  Incomplete
• Sonne's Organic Foods
  Cod Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Source Naturals
  ArcticPure EFA, ArcticPure EPA, ArcticPure DHA
  Best Choice
• Spectrum Organics
  Norwegian Fish Oil, Cod Liver Oil
  Best Choice
• Springreen
  Cod Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Target
  Cod Liver Oil, EPA, Fish Oil, Omega-3
  Best Choice
• Target
  Salmon Oil, Extra Strength Fish Oil
  Incomplete
• The Vitamin Shoppe
  Omega-3 Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• The Vitamin Shoppe
  EPA-DHA
  Incomplete
• Tyler
  Eskimo-3
  Best Choice
• USANA Health Sciences
  BiOmega-3
  Best Choice
• V.E. Irons
  Cod Liver Oil
  Incomplete
• Vitamin World
  Cod Liver Oil, DHA, EPA, Essential Oils, Fish Oil, Heart Essentials Improved, Joint Maintenance, Omega-3, Shark Liver Oil, Triple Omega, Women's Cardiosmart
  Best Choice
• Vitamin World
  Salmon Oil, Super EPA, Super Omega
  Incomplete
• Wal-Mart
  Spring Valley
  Best Choice
• Walgreens
  Fish Oil
  Best Choice
• Wegmans
  Wegmans
  Best Choice
• Xymogen
  Omega Pure, Essential Oils/EFA
  Best Choice
• ZonePerfect
  Molecular Distilled Fish Oil
  Best Choice

Note: The strictest standards are those set by the EPA and the state of California (Proposition 65). The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a dietary supplement trade association, established voluntary standards equal to or more stringent than those set by EPA and California's Proposition 65.

* A recent study found that this company's fish oil products contained contaminant levels that exceed the standards used for this survey. For more information visit http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/banned-chemicals-found-in-popu.

** This product is derived from marine algae, not fish oil. Read more about marine algae supplements and the details of our survey.

***This product is made from wild Alaskan salmon, which is rated a Best Eco-Choice on our Seafood Selector. Unlike most products in this survey, it is cold-pressed rather than molecularly distilled.

Posted: 01-Jan-2004; Updated: 24-Jul-2009