Omega3 fish oil that doesn’t smell

A research team at the Riddet Centre on the Massey (NZ) campus has developed a process that enables the active ingredients in Omega3 fish oil to be incorporated in food in large doses without the usual pungent smell in fact, with no smell at all.

Trials conducted at the centre have demonstrated that its technologies can incorporate Omega3 undetectably in foods such as muesli snack bars, muffins, ice-cream, mayonnaise, plain bread, fruit juice, flavoured yoghurt, smoothies and pasteurised milk.

The secret is nanotechnology, used to encapsulate minute droplets of Omega3. This coating is then broken down in the gut and the oily product released into the body.

"Fatty acids such as Omega3 are essential for normal growth in young children and animals, and have important health benefits for adults," said Professor Paul Moughan, who developed the process with Professor Harjinder Singh.

"The new technology that we have developed means that the total daily Omega3 requirement for a defined health benefit can be met in a single daily serving."