March 16, 2010

On March 2, 2010 Global News reported that people in the United States who take certain brands of fish oil supplements are exposing themselves to unnecessarily high levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are toxic, man-made chemicals.

From Health Canada’s Website:

PCBs are extremely persistent. They last for many years because they do not     break down easily on their own and they are difficult to destroy.

PCBs were first manufactured in 1929. For several decades, they were used widely as ingredients in many industrial materials, such as sealing and caulking compounds, cutting oils, inks and paint additives.

By 1977, concern over the impact of PCBs on the environment led to a North American ban on manufacturing and importing PCBs.

Trace levels of PCBs in the environment (air and water) are found all over the world. Some of this was caused by accidental releases and improper disposal practices in the past, but today, contamination is due primarily to the long-range transport of PCBs by global air currents. Once PCBs get into the environment, they accumulate in the cells of animals.

A California lawsuit filed March 2, 2010, alleged six U.S. manufacturers and two drugstore companies failed to warn the public that products made from fish or shark oil contained PCBs.

At Swiss Natural Sources®:

Our mission for the past 40 years has been to produce safe, effective, and high quality products. Swiss Natural Sources follows the stringent testing standards set by Health Canada, The Council for Responsible Nutrition, The World Health Organization, and The International Conference on Harmonization. All raw materials used in the manufacturing of our products are tested for contaminants, such as PCBs, pesticides, Dioxins, lead, mercury, arsenic, solvent residues and microbial contaminants, including E. coli and Salmonella.

Our suppliers of fish oil adhere to the highest manufacturing standards, which include processing all fish oils to remove potentially harmful environmental contaminants like PCBs. When processing fish oils, distillation is used in the final stages of processing to purify the oil. This removes substances such as PCBs and heavy metals from the fish oil.

Swiss Natural Sources® fish oil supplements are a safe way to receive the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids which are required, but cannot be produced by the body.  People must rely on their diet to provide the proper daily requirements.  Swiss Natural Sources® Omega-3 supplements are an excellent way to help support cardiovascular health and cognitive function.