Why does my fish oil label not say how much EPA and DHA it has?
Our pick for each type, each format ranked separately: Fish Oil, capsules, softgels and tablets: Nature Made Omega-3 from Fish Oil 1200 mg (100 softgels); Algal Oil: Momentous Vegan Omega-3 (60 capsules) (before delivery). Types with no certified product are listed below. Where to buy
4 of the 71 omega-3 products we track do not state how much combined EPA and DHA a serving contains. Of their panels, 1 prints only an oil weight; 1 prints a total omega-3 figure and names EPA and DHA with no amounts; and 2 print a DHA figure and no EPA figure. Those products are listed with their price and get no price per dose, because there is nothing honest to divide by.
Why it matters: EPA and DHA are the reason people buy fish oil, and they are a fraction of the oil. Two softgels of the same oil weight can carry very different amounts of omega-3, and the front of the bottle looks the same either way. A total omega-3 figure is closer, but it includes other omega-3s, so two products with the same total can differ in EPA and DHA. The site never fills the gap with a guess.
What each silent label does say
| Product | Type | What the panel states | Bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| BulkSupplements.com Fish Oil 1000 mg Softgels (240 count) | Fish Oil | Total omega-3 300 mg; EPA and DHA named, no amounts | $28.97 |
| Sports Research DHA 700 Omega-3, Wild Caught (90 softgels) (last known price, Oct 17) | Fish Oil | DHA 700 mg; no EPA figure, so no combined EPA+DHA | $34.95 |
| Sports Research Vegan DHA 700 Omega-3 from Algae Oil (90 veggie softgels) (last known price, Oct 17) | Algal Oil | DHA 700 mg; no EPA figure, so no combined EPA+DHA | $34.95 |
| BulkSupplements.com Krill Oil Softgels (120 count) | Krill Oil | Oil weight only; no EPA, DHA or omega-3 figure | $24.97 |
And the ones that do, 67
Every figure is read from the product's own published Supplement Facts panel and linked on its product page. Under EPA and DHA, “Unknown” means the panel did not print that line; under the price, it means no retailer we track has a current price. Prices before delivery. BulkSupplements.com Algal Oil Softgels (180 count) is priced on one of EPA and DHA because the panel gives its whole omega-3 figure as that one fatty acid, so it is the combined amount. A panel that prints DHA beside no total omega-3 figure, as in the first table, is not priced.
Where to buy: the pick for each type
The pick is the cheapest certified product, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no adverse finding on record, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving; per delivered dose where the retailer publishes a delivery rate. Where none does, it is the cheapest such product before delivery, and it says how far the order is from free delivery. It is the same pick the category page shows.
How these lines are chosen
Among 54 products and 54 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
A pick has to be independently certified, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no recall or failed test, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving. Where the retailer publishes no delivery rate, the pick is priced before delivery and says so. Nothing we track here clears all of those yet. This one clears the certification bar; what holds it back is on its line:
A pick has to be independently certified, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no recall or failed test, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving. Where the retailer publishes no delivery rate, the pick is priced before delivery and says so. Nothing we track here clears all of those yet. This one misses at least one bar, and says which:
How these lines are chosen
Among 4 products and 4 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below. No product here that clears every other bar publishes a delivery rate below its free-delivery threshold, so the pick is priced before delivery.
A pick has to be independently certified, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no recall or failed test, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving. Where the retailer publishes no delivery rate, the pick is priced before delivery and says so. Nothing we track here clears all of those yet. This one misses at least one bar, and says which:
- Which fish oil and omega-3 brands are third-party tested?
- How many fish oil capsules make 1,000 mg of EPA and DHA?
- What is the cheapest NSF certified fish oil or omega-3?
- Krill oil vs fish oil: which costs less per dose of EPA and DHA?
- Is Sports Research fish oil third party tested?
- Is Momentous fish oil NSF certified?
Full comparison of every product in this category: Omega-3. Every question we answer: the question index.
What this rests on: prices we last recorded at the retailer named on each product page, which go stale, and each page says when it was checked; the products we track, not every product sold, and Amazon and Walmart are not among the stores; listings and labels read at the source, each linked from the page. Found an error? Tell us. The full method: How we compare.