EU Passes Omega-3 Nutrition Claims

The European Parliament has voted on and approved nutrition claims for omega-3s that will allow companies to claim their products are either a 'Source of omega-3 fatty acids' or contain 'High omega-3 fatty acids, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to IFFO.

To be eligible to make the source claim, a product must contain 40mg EPA+DHA, or 300mg ALA, per 100g and 100kCal.  To claim a product is high in omega-3s, it must contain 80mg EPA+DHA, or 600mg ALA, per 100g and 100kCal.

The Dietary Reference Values have not been adopted yet, but the nutrition claims are based on a Labeling Reference Value (LRV) that is expected to be substantially similar.  The LRV for EPA+DHA is 250mg per day.

The claims will become effective March 2nd, twenty days after the regulation was published.