How Products were Selected:
Selected products represent those commonly sold and/or available in the U.S. and Canada. ConsumerLab.com purchased products on the open market through retail stores, on-line retailers, or direct sales companies. Products were not accepted directly from manufacturers.Testing Methods:
Omega-3 & 6 vegetable oil products were tested in one or more independent laboratories for the following:- Amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and other fatty acids by Gas Chromatography (GC) utilizing a modified AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists, International) Official Method 991.39.
- Peroxide levels (which indicate spoilage) in free-flowing oils were determined using AOCS (American Oil Chemists Society) Methods CD 8-53 & 12-57.
- Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy).
ConsumerLab.com may modify or use other appropriate test methods if necessary to test special product formulations.
The identities of the products were not disclosed to laboratories performing the testing.
Passing Score:*
To be "Approved" by ConsumerLab.com a product must meet the following requirements:- Contain at least 100% and no more than 150% of its claimed amount of ALA, GLA, and other fatty acids, unless a naturally-occurring component (i.e., not isolated or made synthetically) of an oil, in which case it must be present at 80% to 150% of the listed amount. At a minimum, the product must contain the following amounts of ALA and/or GLA (%wt/wt) respective of the labeled source: Flaxseed oil, min. 50% ALA, borage oil, min. 18% GLA, evening Primrose Oil, min. 8% GLA (USP-DSC 2024), hemp oil, min. 12.3% ALA (Cerino, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 2021) and black currant oil, min.10% ALA, 12% GLA (Tahvonen, J.Nut. Biochem. 2005).
- Heavy Metals: All products must not exceed the following limits:
Lead:- Products marketed for use by children under 12 years of age may not exceed the State of California's Prop 65 limits for lead in dietary supplements of 0.5 mcg per recommended daily serving with an additional allowance of 0.8 mcg if the product contains more than 1,000 mg/day of calcium.
- Products with a single serving weights of less than 5 grams that are not marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed the State of California's Prop 65 limits for lead in dietary supplements of 0.5 mcg per recommended daily serving (above which a warning regarding reproductive harm, birth defects, or cancer risks is required in California) with an additional allowance of 0.4 mcg if containing 250-999 mg/day of any combination of elemental calcium, magnesium and potassium or 0.8 mcg if containing more than 1,000 mg/day of any combination of these minerals. An additional allowance of 0.5 mcg is provided if containing 250-999 mg/day of whole herb (not extract) or 1.0 mcg if containing 1000 mg/day or more of whole herb (not extract). However, total lead allowance must not exceed 2 mcg per daily serving.
- Products with single serving weights of 5 grams or more that are not marketed for children under 12 years of age may not exceed 2.5 mcg per serving nor 4.0 mcg per daily serving.
- Contain less than 10 micrograms of total arsenic per daily serving (based on Canada’s limit per daily serving of a natural health product, and U.S. EPA and state of New Jersey limit in 1 liter of water). Products found to exceed this amount were tested for inorganic arsenic and must not contain more than 2.1 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per daily serving (Canada's additional limit in natural health products).
- If marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed 3.0 micrograms of cadmium per recommended daily serving (based on Canada's limit for a child weighing 75lbs). If not marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed 4.1 micrograms of cadmium per recommended daily serving (above which California's Prop 65 law requires a "reproductive harm" warning due to developmental toxicity and male reproductive harm.
- May not exceed 2 micrograms of inorganic mercury per daily serving (based on EPA limit for mercury in 1 liter of water).
- Peroxide levels in free-flowing oils (not encapsulated or tableted): For refined oils < 10 mEq/kg oil. For cold pressed and virgin oils < 15 mEq/kg oil (Codex Standards for Fats and Oils from Vegetable Sources, 1999).
- Be in compliance with FDA labeling requirements.
* Passing scores allow for specific margins of technical error associated with each analysis. ConsumerLab.com reserves the right to disqualify a product at any time from passing its testing if it considers such product to display unacceptable variation, present a safety risk, or to provide misleading or inaccurate information in its labeling.
