On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, a lawsuit was filed in a San Francisco Superior Court, which alleged that several popular brands of fish oil supplements have illegally undisclosed and unnecessarily high levels of contamination from toxic PCB compounds. Widely regarded as cancer-causing agents, PCB’s were outlawed from manufacture in 1979. The lawsuit names eight manufacturers and retailers of fish and fish liver oils (as well as shark and shark liver oils) which tested positive for PCB contamination that exceeded the limits approved for human consumption under California’s Proposition 65. The initial defendants named are CVS Pharmacy, Inc.; General Nutrition Corp. (GNC); Now Health Group, Inc.; Omega Protein, Inc.; Pharmavite LLC (Nature Made brand); Rite Aid Corp.; Solgar, Inc.; and TwinLab Corp.
These allegations should give consumers cause for grave concern. Although many currently marketed fish oil supplements feature claims of being “treated” to remove or reduce levels of PCB’s and other toxins, many fail to accurately state the residual levels of PCB’s remaining after “treatment”. This lack of disclosure leaves consumers completely in the dark, not knowing whether or not they are ingesting high levels of PCB’s when taking their omega-3 supplement. The allegations are deeply disturbing, as many consumers regularly take their supplements every day. More...