Food Research Institute

Erkan, N. – Can Tunçelli, İ. – Özden, Ö.
Content and economic evaluation of omega-3 fatty acid nutritional supplements
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 62, 2023, No. 1, s. 14-25

Özkan Özden, Department of Seafood Processing Technology, Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University, Kalenderhane Mah. 16 Mart Şehitleri Cad. No:2 Vezneciler, 34134 Istanbul, Turkey. E-mail: ozden@istanbul.edu.tr

Original article
Received 21 July 2022; 1st revised 19 December 2022; accepted 10 January 2023; published only 22 January 2023

Summary: Marine‐derived omega‐3 fatty acids, namely eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are abundant in seafood and fish oils. They are recommended for their many health benefits. There has been a large and sustained growth in sales of nutritional supplements containing omega‐3 fatty acids during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, a total of 54 omega‐3 fatty acids supplement products of various brands available in Turkey was analysed for their fatty acids content using gas chromatography. In 59.3 % of the products examined, EPA plus DHA content was found to be less than what was stated on the label. It was observed that 25.9 % could meet the daily EPA+DHA need with a capsule or a measure of consumption. Overall, 35.2 % of products were found satisfactory in terms of providing 80 % or more of the daily EPA+DHA requirement with a capsule or a measure of consumption and advantageous in terms of contents and price. The remaining 64.8 % of products could not provide 80 % of the daily EPA+DHA requirement with a single capsule. This study provided information on the accuracy of the declared contents of omega‐3 fatty acids supplements and evaluated the advantages for the consumers.

Keywords: nutritional supplement; eicosapentaenoic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; health benefit; mislabelling; consumption assessment

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