Krill oil

Safety and regulation

Although there may be toxic residues present in Antarctic krill and fish, the United States Food and Drug Administration has accepted notices from krill oil manufacturers declaring that krill oil and supplement products derived from it meet the standards for generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status.

Krill oil is listed among authorized European novel foods by meeting specification limits.

Difference between krill oil and fish oil

Krill oil and oceanic fish oil are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). While both contain some EPA and DHA as free fatty acids, krill oil contains particularly rich amounts of choline-containing phospholipids and a phosphatidylcholine concentration of 34 grams per 100 grams of oil.

Krill oil also contains an appreciable content of astaxanthin at 0.1 to 1.5 mg/ml, depending on processing methods, which is responsible for its red color. While fish oil is generally golden yellow, krill oil tends to be reddish. It is generally more expensive than fish oil.

References

References

1. (2010). "Krill oil. Monograph". Altern Med Rev.
2. (March 2006). "Occurrence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their enantiomeric signatures, and concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Adélie penguin food web, Antarctica". Environmental Pollution.
3. (August 2007). "Anthropogenic and naturally occurring organobrominated compounds in fish oil dietary supplements". Environmental Science & Technology.
4. CFSAN/Office of Food Additive Safety. (July 22, 2011). "Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000371".
5. CFSAN/Office of Food Additive Safety. (January 3, 2008). "Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000226".
6. (20 December 2017). "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 of 20 December 2017 establishing the Union list of novel foods in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods". Eur-Lex.
7. (June 2009). "Investigation of natural phosphatidylcholine sources: separation and identification by liquid chromatography - electronspray ionization - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS2) of molecular species". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
8. (September 2010). "Elucidation of phosphatidylcholine composition in krill oil extracted from ''Euphausia Superba''". Lipids.
9. (14 November 2011). "Characterization of oil including astaxanthin extracted from krill (Euphausia superba) using supercritical carbon dioxide and organic solvent as comparative method". Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering.
10. Paul Jones. (23 April 2024). "The benefits and differences between fish oil and krill oil".