Ascenta places consumer safety first with PCB
levels significantly below the most stringent guidelines.
March 3, 2010, Halifax,NS – Ascenta
Health Ltd., developer of NutraSea, the leading omega-3 fish oil
supplement line in Canada, provides complete transparency to consumers
regarding the safety of its products, an important reassurance in light
of a PCB contamination level lawsuit filed yesterday against other
industry players.
The lawsuit, filed in a California court against several fish oil
manufacturers whose products contain high levels of contamination with
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds, brings to light the
importance of purity and quality in a fish oil supplement.
Ascenta’s highly purified omega-3 fish oil supplements go through a
strict third-party quality testing program called Pure Check. Through
Pure Check, each lot of product is tested for contaminants such as
PCB’s, mercury and dioxins against the most rigorous safety standards
and the test results are posted on the company’s website for consumers
to see. Ascenta is the only company in the industry to provide this
level of reassurance and transparency to consumers.
"We're pleased to carry NutraSea, Ascenta’s high quality, ultra-pure
fish oil," said Rob Maru, Vitamin Expert at The Vitamin Shoppe, a
leading North American vitamin and supplement retailer. "Ascenta offers
consumers a way to check the results of PCB testing right on line,
which can comfort many consumers."
“Scientific research has proven that omega-3 is essential to maintain
overall health, cardiovascular, mental and joint health” said Marc
St-Onge, Ascenta’s President and CEO. “Fish oil is the best source of
omega-3 and consumers need to know that a highly purified fish oil is
safe to consume, even during pregnancy. The levels of contaminants
found in a good quality fish oil supplement are far less than what is
found in fresh fish” adds St- Onge. The California’s Environmental
Protection Agency’s Proposition 65 safe harbor level guidelines
regarding no significant risk levels for carcinogens and maximum
allowable dose levels for chemicals causing reproductive toxicity
identified a PCB maximum intake of 0.09 micrograms per day. A 2002
Health Canada fish and seafood survey confirms that fresh fish, such as
a serving of wild salmon, contains 0.495 micrograms per day of PCBs.
In our natural world, man-made pollutants are persistent and have
accumulated to the point where they can be found in virtually any
ecosystem or food chain. Consumers should make efforts to reduce
exposure by choosing highly purified products. Ascenta’s omega-3
supplements are an industry leader for purity. The levels of PCB’s in
Ascenta’s products can only be identified using sophisticated
analytical instruments that can detect down to parts per trillion. On
average, the level of PCBs in a serving of Ascenta’s product is only
0.005 micrograms per day, well below the Prop. 65 maximum allowable
level.
About Ascenta Health Ltd.
Ascenta Health Ltd. is a leading developer of natural health products.
Ascenta is headquartered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company
develops, produces and markets omega-3 supplements for human and animal
health. Its human products under the NutraSea brand have a dominant 43
per cent share of the Canadian market. Ascenta products are sold
throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
Learn
more about Ascenta
Health Ltd.
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