The IFOS 5 Star Rating

The table below verifies that The International Fish Oil Standard (IFOS) is the highest standard for fish oil quality in the world.

The IFOS 5 Star rating guarantees safety of the fish oil and assures you that you cannot get a higher quality product for oxidation status, purity and strength in the world.

Standard	IFOS 5-Star Certification	Council for Responsible Nutrition	European Pharmacopeia	Norwegian    Medicinal Standards
Peroxide	less than  3.75meg/kg	5 meg/kg	10 meg/kg	10 meg/kg
Tot Oxid Levels	less than 20 meg/kg	26 meg/kg	NA	NA
Lead	less than  10 ppb	10 ppb	100 ppb	100 ppb
Mercury	less than  10 ppb	10 ppb	100 ppb	100 ppb
Dioxons and Furans	less than  1 ppt	2 ppt	2 ppt	2 ppt
PCBs	less than  45 ppb	90 ppb	NA	NA

International Fish Oil Standards is managed through the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The IFOS standard is significantly stricter than all other global standards. These include the Norwegian Medicinal Standards, European Pharmacopeia, or the standards of The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). The table shows that some of the other standards do not test for certain contaminants and they all allow for higher levels than the very strict IFOS criteria.

Every batch of See Yourself Well and Life Support fish oil is tested to confirm a five star IFOS rating.  The 5 star rating is achieved by surpassing the requirements of each section in the above chart. When companies make claims about mercury, lead, PCBs and heavy metals, check the label further to see exactly what they mean and which standards, if any, they are complying with and if they have any independent certification to prove their claims. For proof of the 5* rating of See Yourself Well and Life Support brands see the IFOS website

Uncertified fish oil products

Many of the benefits from fish oil have been shown to be dose related: the higher the dose the greater the benefit.  The problem is that our oceans are polluted with toxic heavy metals including lead and mercury and PCBs that are carcinogenic (known to cause cancer) and taking high doses of inferior uncertified fish oil could do more harm than good.

One of the biggest risks from fish oil products is oxidation because when this happens it actually becomes toxic with the risk of causing inflammation and cancer. Unfortunately there are no regulations to ensure that all fish oil for sale is tested and properly certified for oxidation status and it is possible to buy cheap untested and uncertified fish oil that is produced, stored and transported under uncontrolled conditions and sold in capsules that have never been tested or certified.  You would not put contaminated toxic oil in your car so why would you risk putting uncertified oil into your body?

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil

Pharmaceutical grade is a term that is often misused. It is understood in the industry that to qualify for this title the fish oil must be ultra-refined to at least 60% omega-3 fatty acids. (Barry Sears, The Omega-3 Rx Zone). These oils, if tested by IFOS would achieve a 5 Star rating, giving the consumer complete piece of mind as to purity and concentration.