Which Fish Oil Supplements Contain PCB?

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, claims that the makers and sellers of certain Fish Oil supplements found to contain high levels of PCB compounds (chemicals banned in the 70's due to cancer causing agents) 
Again, don't panic, but the 10 fish oil supplements tested include the brands Nature Made, Twinlab Norwegian, Solgar, Now Foods and GNC liquid Norwegian and they all found PCBs.

10 PRODUCTS TESTED

n Nature Made cod liver oil and odorless fish oil; manufacturer Pharmavite LLC in Northridge

n Twinlab Norwegian cod liver oil and emulsified Norwegian cod liver oil; manufactured in American Fork, Utah

n Now Foods shark liver oil, double strength cod liver oil and salmon oil; manufactured in Bloomingdale, Ill.

n Solgar 100 percent pure Norwegian shark liver oil complex and Norwegian cod liver oil; manufactured in Leonia, N.J.

n GNC liquid Norwegian cod liver oil; manufactured in Pittsburgh

Lab tests of these 10 fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids found they contain some of the 209 polychlorinated biphenyl compounds known to cause cancer and birth defects.

PCBs became subject to California's Prop. 65 warning requirement in 1989 for cancer and in 1991 for birth defects. Once widely used in electrical transformers, PCBs were banned by Congress in 1979, but the Great Lakes and the Hudson River remain contaminated despite cleanup efforts. The chemical, which was made to last a long time without breaking down, accumulates in the food chain.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 (Reuters) - A group including a California nonprofit organization is suing fish oil manufacturers and pharmacies that sell the popular supplements over their purported toxicity.

 -- man-made industrial chemicals -- have failed to alert consumers as required under California's right-to-know law.

The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, one of three named plaintiffs, tested 10 fish oil supplements out of more than 100 on the market. The other plaintiffs in the case are New Jersey residents.

Defendants include the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil, Houston-based Omega Protein (OME.N), as well as drug stores Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) and CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N).

"The people buying these fish oil supplements are not being told the PCBs are there," said plaintiff's attorney David Roe.

People consume fish oil supplements for the health benefits obtained from omega-3 fatty acids, but there are currently no standards for PCB contamination in fish oil in the United States, according to Roe.

Also named as defendants are General Nutrition Corp, a subsidiary of GNC Acquisition Holdings Corp, Now Health Group Inc, Pharmavite LLC, the maker of the NatureMade brand of supplements, Solgar Inc and TwinLab Corp. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage, editing by Maureen Bavdek)