Cod Liver Oil

Cod liver oil (CAS 8001-69-2) is the purified fatty oil obtained from the fresh livers of wild cod, Gadus morhua L. and other species of the family Gadidae. The oil is separated from the livers, partially destearinated by cooling and filtration, then refined and deodorised. Unlike fish body oil, it is a liver oil, and that distinction is the whole commercial point: cod livers store the fat-soluble vitamins, so the finished oil carries native vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) alongside its long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, without any need for fortification. Both the European Pharmacopoeia monograph 1192 Cod-liver oil (Type A) and the USP Cod Liver Oil monograph set the same vitamin window - 600 to 2500 IU of vitamin A per gram (180 to 750 µg retinol) and 60 to 250 IU of vitamin D3 per gram (1.5 to 6.25 µg cholecalciferol). The Type A monograph also caps acid value at 2.0, peroxide value at 10.0, anisidine value at 30.0 and unsaponifiable matter at 1.5%, with an iodine value of 150 to 180; tighter GOED trade limits of PV 5 and p-AV 20 are available where the buyer's own specification demands them. Total omega-3 content typically runs 20-25%, with DHA slightly ahead of EPA, and dioxins and PCBs are controlled to the EU 2023/915 marine-oil limits. A suitable antioxidant may be added under the monograph; ours is mixed natural tocopherols, with nitrogen blanketing at fill. Because the vitamins are native rather than added, formulators must count them towards the finished product's declared levels and any regulatory maximum for vitamin A and vitamin D in the destination market - this is a formulation and labelling point, not a dosing recommendation. The oil is of marine animal origin and is neither vegan nor vegetarian. It carries FISH as a declarable allergen under EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex II, is free from milk, egg, soy, gluten, crustacean and nut inputs, and is supplied with a CoA covering vitamin assays, GC fatty acid profile, oxidation values, heavy metals and POPs.