EPAX Adds German Distributor, Ups Quality Standards

AALESUND, NorwayEPAX AS selected Edling, Germany-based Goerlich Pharma International GmbH as its exclusive distributor in Germany, Switzerland and Austria for the EPAX line of marine-derived omega-3 essential fatty acid (EFA) concentrates. EPAX has seen strong sales growth in the European market and expects to see a shift toward higher-quality omega-3 oils in Germany.

According to Haakon Brokke, EPAX sales manager, there is increasing awareness in the European health care market about the importance of quality in omega-3 selection. The omega-3 market in Germany, Switzerland and Austria is still very generic, with fish and salmon oil being the most common, Brokke said. The EPAX product portfolio provides the health care industry with a variety of options for differentiation and allows the consumers to focus on individual health conditions. Our partnership with Goerlich Pharma enables EPAX to increase both our presence and activity level in order to handle the expected growth in these important markets.

In additional news, EPAX AS lowered the acceptable level for dioxins, furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the specs for its omega-3 concentrates. EPAXs levels for the combination of the three contaminants are now 4 parts/gram, 60-percent lower than those required by European Union (EU) authorities (10 p/g). In addition, EPAX lowered the levels of oxidation products, reflected in areas such as peroxide, totox and acid values, significantly below those set by international regulations.

Bjorn Refsum, chief executive officer (CEO), EPAX (www.epax.com), said: The EPAX limits for environmental pollutants are at such low levels and consumed in such small concentrationsthat they are considered absolutely safe. High levels of oxidation products are proven to be damaging to the human cell by free radicals forming. This is why EPAX aims for the total quality of the oils by also monitoring and including parameters for oxidation into the values of EPAX purity.