Cold-pressed fish oil – not necessarily better, according to a report from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority

Many people associate "cold-pressed" with natural, healthy and untreated. That may be true for olive oil – but not necessarily for fish oil. A new report from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority shows that cold-pressed or minimally processed marine oils can often have higher levels of environmental toxins and poorer stability than refined oils.

This means that the idea that cold-pressed fish oil is automatically a seal of quality is not true. On the contrary, it can be problematic – both in terms of environmental toxins and shelf life.

 

Cold-pressed fish oil goes rancid faster

Cold-pressed oils are produced without heat treatment and without purification. This can preserve flavor and some natural components, but also has clear disadvantages:

• The oil goes rancid faster because it does not undergo advanced purification technology that removes unstable fractions.

• A low totox value (freshness index) on a freshly pressed cold-pressed oil says little about what the oil will look like after a few months of storage.

• Unrefined oils are generally more vulnerable to light, heat, and oxygen , and therefore may deteriorate sooner than refined oils.

Consumers who want stable quality over time should therefore not be fooled by the word "cold pressed" alone.

Environmental toxins and heavy metals – greater risk in unrefined oils

The Food Safety Authority also points to another challenge:
Some marine raw materials naturally contain more environmental toxins and heavy metals than others.

This applies in particular to raw materials from:

• certain types of long-lived fish

• marine mammal

• organisms high in the food chain

When the oil is not purified, these substances can remain in the final product to a greater extent.

Our recommendation

To ensure clean and safe fish oil, you should choose oils that:

1. Comes from raw materials with a low natural content of environmental pollutants

2. Is purified with modern technology , so that dioxins, PCBs and heavy metals are effectively removed

3. Has good durability , documented through stable oxidation measurements

This provides the safest and most stable oil – regardless of whether it is "cold pressed" or not.

High EPA – another important quality factor

In addition to purity and stability, the fatty acid profile itself is important.
A fish oil high in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) has a number of documented benefits, including those related to:

• anti-inflammatory mechanisms

• regulation of eicosanoid balance

• support for concentration and cognitive function

• general lifestyle-related health

High-EPA oils will therefore often provide better effects than general "blended oils".

This is what the Norwegian Food Safety Authority found in its new report.

The Danish Food Safety Authority commissioned a comprehensive assessment to answer a key question:

Do marine oils have to be purified before they can be sold for human consumption?

Who conducted the survey?

Institute of Marine Research

What did they investigate?

Concentrations of dioxins and PCBs (organic pollutants) in various marine raw materials.
The data was converted to fat weight so that different oil sources could be compared.

Time period:

2019

What were they looking for?

Whether there are marine oils that can be sold untreated and still stay within the current limit values for environmental pollutants.

What did they find?

The conclusion was clear:

Marine oils produced from most raw materials must be purified to comply with the limit values for dioxins and PCBs in oils for human consumption.

This means that in many cases, "cold pressed" is not an advantage – and that purification is actually necessary to ensure that the oil is safe.