Algal Oil (Vegan DHA)

Algal oil is the vegan route to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, CAS 6217-54-5, C22H32O2). It is produced by growing the marine thraustochytrid Schizochytrium sp. — including Schizochytrium limacinum — heterotrophically on a sugar feedstock in closed fermenters, then disrupting the cells and recovering, refining, bleaching and deodorising the intracellular oil. Nothing is harvested from the sea, so the material carries no fish or crustacean allergen and none of the ocean contaminant load that drives testing costs on marine oils. Thovek supplies it as 500 mg and 1000 mg vegan softgels, in bulk or under the buyer's label, and as drummed oil or micro-encapsulated powder for customers who blend and encapsulate in-house. The EU novel food union list sets the reference specification: DHA ≥ 32% of total fatty acids, acid value ≤ 0.5 mg KOH/g, peroxide value ≤ 5.0 meq O2/kg, unsaponifiable matter ≤ 4.5%, trans fatty acids ≤ 1.0% and moisture and volatiles ≤ 0.05%. Commercial batches assessed by EFSA ran 40.5–46.3% DHA against that 32% floor, and EFSA has additionally recommended a p-anisidine limit of 10 for this oil as a secondary oxidation indicator; GOED's general omega-3 limits of p-anisidine ≤ 20 and TOTOX ≤ 26 apply otherwise, and the oil is pale enough that the pAV assay works normally, unlike astaxanthin-coloured krill oil. DHA is delivered as triglyceride, not ethyl ester. Beyond the DHA-only oils, DHA+EPA grades at roughly 30% DHA with 15% EPA, concentrated grades to 55% DHA, and a 10% DHA powder for dry blending are available. Regulatory standing is well established. Schizochytrium sp. oil is on the EU novel food union list under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470, with strain-specific entries including ATCC PTA-9695, FCC-3204, T-18 and WZU477, and DHA-rich oils from Schizochytrium have been the subject of a long run of US FDA GRAS notices — GRN 137, 553, 677, 731, 732, 776 and later — closed with "no questions" letters covering food and, for some, infant formula. The product is vegan and vegetarian, and the softgel shell is built from modified tapioca or corn starch, vegetable glycerin and purified water, with carrageenan-free options; buyers who must avoid a soy declaration should specify sunflower-derived tocopherol for the antioxidant system. Brands labelling for the EU size fills around the 250 mg/day DHA intake condition attached to the authorised function claims in Regulation (EU) No 432/2012. Each shipment ships with COA, allergen and vegan statements, non-GMO documentation and contaminant results.