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Not supplying 100% of what is advertised
I went to Consumerlab.com, a company that independently tests health and nutritional products. One of the studies that they undertook was with this product. The study that they did found that only 79.1% of the reported EPA that the company (Now Foods) claimed to have was actually in the pills and 76.7% of the reported DHA was in the pills. The study also pointed out that 78.4% of the total omega-3 fatty acids were actually in the pills as well. They also analyzed the amount of "spoilage compounds" which measures burping and other "gastrointestinal effects." To be considered fresh, the spoiling compounds can't exceed a TOTOX value of 26, this product had a TOTOX value of 57.4.
Don't pay attention to their "GMP quality assured" seal. It's meaningless without companies like Consumerlab actually doing independent research to verify if a company's claims are true. Even if only 5% of the DHA (which is more important and necessary than EPA) was off, every company has a duty to accurately disclose what is in their products. I've had a suspicion about this company for some time since I bought their magnesium pills. I could never reconcile how a company that produces as many supplements as NOW Foods has listed on their website is able to find a way to price their products at competitive price points compared with their competitors. Especially a company with little notoriety-I only found out about this company a few months ago.
Anyways, I did my part. And more likely in the future, I'll seek an alternative to this company.
October 2011 · Health and Household