Recap of GOED’s First Technology & Innovation Roundup
Last month, GOED hosted its first Technology & Innovation Roundup. Twelve companies participated in the webinar and attendees from more than 60 companies learned about new ways to provide value to their omega-3 business.
Review the presentations or watch to the webinar again to hear everything that was presented by top experts in the industry. The recording passcode is: e^52nC2h. Participating companies included:
Please contact the companies directly if you are interested in learning more.
NOSB to Consider Status of Fish Oil on Organic List
The spring meeting of the US National Organic Standard Board (NOSB) will take place April 29 - May 1, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and include a discussion and a vote on whether to retain fish oil on the list of non-organically produced agricultural products allowed as ingredients in or on processed products labeled "organic." Every ingredient on the list is subject to a sunset review every five years and the last one for fish oil occurred during the fall 2019 meeting.
GOED plans to submit written comments to the NOSB supporting the retention of fish oil on the list and may deliver oral comments to reinforce our position. While GOED knows of limited fish oil being used in products labeled “organic,” there is concern that if fish oil is not relisted it could result in bad publicity for the omega-3 industry if the reason is related to sustainability.
As background, in 2015, unfounded sustainability concerns almost kept fish oil from being relisted. In 2019, sustainability was discussed, but fish oil was relisted without much objection because of an earlier decision by the National Organic Program (NOP) to allow for future work by the NOSB to come up with a recommendation to expand the fish oil annotation to include text about using only sustainable fish in the production of fish oil. After much discussion by the NOSB and input from the omega-3 industry (see the March 21, 2022 edition of The GOED Current), the NOSB passed a motion to recommend a modification to the existing fish oil annotation, but the recommendation was not acted upon by the NOP. Without an expanded annotation for fish oil, sustainability concerns are likely to be raised at the upcoming NOSB meeting, which means that the relisting of fish oil could be jeopardized.
Fish oil's current sunset date is September 12, 2026. This means that if fish oil is not relisted, products with fish oil and labeled “organic” will not be permitted to be sold after that date.
Meet a GOED Member: Vibefarma
In our latest interview of the Meet a GOED Member video series, we interview Toni Villar, the founder of GOED member Vibefarma. Click the thumbnail or the button below to learn about the company’s work and contact Toni for more information.
Please note that GOED does not analyze or make any representation of accuracy for the Omega-3 News items. This is simply a compilation of news articles found on the internet that are relevant to the EPA and DHA business.
Highlights
GLOBAL OMEGA-3 DAY:
Thank you to all members who participated in this year's Global Omega-3 Day celebration. Stay tuned for a full video recap.
Member promotions: Don't forget that GOED members are entitled to special holiday discounts on market research, industry exposure at SupplySide West and access to GOED's Clinical Study Database during all of March. Learn more »
NEW: Advertising — GOED is offering a 30% discount on Leaderboard ads and a 25% discount on Box ads in The GOED Current. More than 1,200 key decision-makers receive the weekly newsletter and the ads run for 90 days. The first three companies purchasing ads will get a free month-long ad on the Member Directory page as well. Click here to learn more and contact Ashley Becnel to reserve your spot.
NEW MEMBERS: In February, two new companies joined at the Base level.
GOED wants members to be cautious regarding the nominal value of the recently released certified USP primary EPA-ethyl ester reference standard, R181T0. GOED’s Technical Committee reports that its EPA-EE content may be up to 1.5% lower than the previous standard, R085H0. Use of the new standard may cause marked errors in EPA and Total Omega-3 content measurements. USP has been informed about the issue. The old standard is still valid until the end of January 2025. In the meantime, if you make your own qualification of the new standard, please send any results to Gerard Bannenberg to allow discussion of any new insights in the Technical Committee.
Regulatory & Certification
US FDA Updates
Dietary Supplements Guidance
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published final guidance for the industry entitled “Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notification Procedures and Timeframes: Guidance for Industry.”
The guidance finalizes Section V of the 2016 revised draft guidance, “NDI Notification Procedures and Timeframes,” as well as several related questions from other sections. Changes since the revised draft guidance include the following: additional clarity on the procedures for preparing and submitting an NDIN; technical updates related to recent changes to the online submission portal for NDINs; and more information about communications with FDA during the NDIN review process.
In the US, the draft final rule for Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT), which has the potential to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legal authority to regulate omega-3 testing as a medical device, was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. It is believed that publication of the final rule could be legally challenged due to the number of comments the FDA received in response to the proposed rule that were unlikely addressed. For those interested in the US rulemaking process, click here.
Solutions Needed
GOED is offering connections for companies looking for omega-3 related solutions or partners. If you want to include an anonymous request, please contactAshley Becnel.
(New) A company is looking for feed-grade fish oil with a minimum of 27% EPA + DHA. [Posted 3/11/2024]
A company is looking for 4 to 8 metric tons of ethyl ester fish oil (40/30), with a potential for substantial volume growth in the near future. [Posted 3/4/2024]
The Nature Made line of supplements owned by GOED member Pharmavite has been named "the Official Vitamin of USA Pickleball." USA Pickleball is the official association of the US' fast-growing racket sport.
GOED member WHC Health Consulting's line of children's omega-3 supplements — which is selling well in the Chinese market — is now available in all Hong Kong Lotus Parenting Eugene Baby franchises. The chain is a popular infant, child and maternal health retailer in the region.
The NutraIngredients-Asia awards now are open for nominations. The categories include awards for ingredients, finished products and specialty products. Omega-3 finished products also have their own sub-category.
The Blackmore Family Foundation created by GOED member Blackmores donated A$10 million (US$6.6 million, €6.6 million) to Western Sydney University's NICM Health Research Institute to help the organization focus on chronic disease areas where complementary medicine can make a real difference.
GOED member Epax released Epax Omega 3-9-11. In addition to EPA and DHA, the new ingredient has increased levels (720 combined mg/g) of omega-9 and omega-11.
GOED member FrieslandCampina Ingredients launched two algae-based microencapsulated DHA ingredients — a vegan offering with 15% DHA and a vegetarian option that uses dairy proteins in the powder matrix and includes 20% DHA.
The manufacturers of the Arctic Blue brand of omega-3 supplements announced a new fish oil processing method for its flagship omega-3 supplement sourced from Arctic ingredients and certified sustainable by GOED member the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
Donations from GOED member Croda's philanthropic foundation to socially-focused charitable causes have now reached more than 28 million people since its founding in 2020. In related news, GOED member Eurofins' Foundation intends to give grants to innovative projects that focus on global health, safety and environmental protection.
GOED member Herbalife has added seasoned finance executive Michael Levitt to its board. Additionally, Kevin Jones is leaving the board after three years of service.
GOED member Reckitt announced a 3.5% year-on-year increase in 2023 full-year revenues. The company also reports that its Nutrition division expects to decline in the first half of 2024 but should return to growth during H2.