KEY INTERVIEW: Krill Oil Continues its Journey to Deliver Sustainable Omega-3s with Added Benefits

18 Jan 2016 --- Krill oil is becoming known as a viable, sustainable alternative to traditional fish oil. Roar Hernes is Senior Vice President at Norwegian krill oil company Aker BioMarine, the world’s largest vertically integrated krill oil and meal supplier. He talked to FoodIngredientsFirst about the advantages and challenges of krill, and how it could change the way we consume omega-3 fatty acids.

Norwegian marine specialist Aker BioMarine, which is owned by Aker, an experienced oil and gas drilling business, began to harvest krill in 2003, having been a successful fishing business and noted the vast pool of krill in the Antarctic. According to Hernes, Aker BioMarine started with the fishing vessels and an idea that it should be possible to utilize the gigantic krill biomass.

“Aker BioMarine learnt how to fish the krill, how to process the krill into a krill meal on board the vessels and how to extract krill oil from the krill meal. Now we sell into three markets: Fish feed (krill meal), pet food (krill meal) and dietary supplements (krill oil). On top of the supply chain we have our own R&D department, regulatory, sales and marketing,” he said.

One of the key features that Hernes comes back to is the sustainable element of krill harvesting. “Independent scientists are investigating the krill biomass, and as long as the numbers show us it is a sustainable way to harvest omega-3 fatty acids, then we will continue,” he said.

“Antarctica is the only area in the world that has its own complete ecosystem and because of this unique situation, krill harvesting quotas are set in relation to other species within that ecosystem. If you look at the numbers of krill in the Antarctic region, you will see that krill is the most sustainable way of taking DHA and EPA [essential fatty acids] out of the sea.”

In 2015, Aker BioMarine became a founding partner of the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund, with a starting capital of $500,000. The fund, which invites researchers to apply for Antarctic-related projects, seeks to ensure that into the future 100% of krill harvesting in the Antarctic is done in a most sustainable way.

Once the krill itself has been processed, it is sold either as a meal, or as an omega-3 rich oil for use in supplements. Such supplements have been on the market for several years and krill’s stability and purity give it an edge over some competitors. Two further advantages over fish-derived omega-3 oils are the high levels of astaxanthin, which is a strong antioxidant, removing the need for added antioxidants that reduce spoilage, and its phospholipid content. The complete oil is suitable for human consumption, with nothing added or removed.

The only fly in this ointment is the oil’s smell and taste, which at the moment prevents it from being used as a food ingredient. “We are confident that there will be a breakthrough on this front in the near future,” confirms Hernes. “Last year a krill oil gummy bear was launched that included the oil and was low in smell and taste and this gives it big potential to utilise the oil in other products. We do hope to also move into food and there is promising work to be completed this year,” he says.

The big area that marketing will focus on though, is establishing EU health claims and promoting the phospholipid content of the oil. “Standard fish oil has no phospholipids,” explains Hernes. “The choline in the phospholipid of krill oil already carries three EU health claims, related to its homocysteine levels, lipid metabolism and liver health. We will continue to invest in documenting the possibilities of phospholipids and, while the EU market is challenging, we feel it will be possible to obtain krill-specific claims in the future.”

As such a young product, krill oil still has a long way to go until it reaches its full potential. Aker BioMarine, however, is at the forefront of research to ensure that the oil is harvested, processed and developed in the correct way to become the leading source of omega-3 fatty acids, while protecting the ocean and benefitting the consumer.

By Kelly Worgan

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