China Ministry of Health Approves Omega-3 Fish Oil and Fish Oil Powder as Novel Food Ingredients

It is anticipated the Chinese market will quickly follow the lead of both North America and Europe, where Omega-3 fortified food and beverage new product launches are showing excellent growth.

26 Apr 2010 --- Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited (ONC), supplier of MEG-3 brand Omega-3 EPA/DHA food and dietary supplement ingredients, is pleased to announce that earlier this year the People’s Republic of China formally announced that both Omega-3 fish oil and fish oil powder were approved as Novel Food Ingredients for all food and beverage categories and for all ages; children through to seniors. This is a profound acknowledgement by the China government that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are necessary “good” fats that deliver a wide array of health benefits that are most likely missing in the typical Chinese consumer’s diet.

ONC was the lead company to start this submission over 2 years ago and they provided a wealth of regulatory, scientific and safety information as part of the submission dossier in 2007. It is anticipated the Chinese market will quickly follow the lead of both North America and Europe, where Omega-3 fortified food and beverage new product launches are showing excellent growth. The China market already has some good knowledge of the health benefits of DHA, one of the Omega-3’s, as it is included in many of the Chinese infant formulas to aid in brain and eye development.  DHA from fish oil already had regulatory coverage in China as a nutritional fortifier allowed to be added to infant formula and children’s foods.
 
ONC will be growing their ingredient business in China through their long-time distributor, Ruihua Hexin International. They also plan to support the growing China market by opening a sales and marketing office in Shanghai and adding local staff. This should all be in place by the end of the year. 
 
Jon Getzinger, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at ONC, said “We’re very excited about this announcement by the Chinese government as it comes after 2 years of regulatory submissions. We pride ourselves on producing MEG-3 fish oil ingredients , the purest, safest fish oil and fish oil powder, and we are looking forward to working with the Chinese food and beverage companies that will be interested in fortifying their products with Omega-3’s for the benefit of their local consumers.”