Fish Oil Market Data, Quality Standards and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-11Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$1.4B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are current requirements from the FAO/WHO Codex Standard for Fish Oils CXS 329-2017, amended in 2024. The standard defines food-use identity, composition and quality boundaries; it does not establish current lot availability, certify a shipment or provide a live delivered fish-oil price.

General fish-oil acid value maximum

3

milligrams KOH per gram · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

General fish-oil peroxide value maximum

5

milliequivalents active oxygen per kilogram oil · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

General fish-oil anisidine value maximum

20

anisidine value · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

General fish-oil total oxidation value maximum

26

ToTox value · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

Anchovy oil EPA plus DHA minimum

27

percent of total fatty acids · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

Krill oil phospholipid minimum

30

percent by weight · CXS 329-2017, amended 2024

Source taxon and oil form define the trade identity

CXS 329-2017 separates named oils such as anchovy, tuna, krill, menhaden, salmon and calanus from unnamed fish oils, and distinguishes body oils from named or unnamed liver oils. It also separates ordinary glyceride oils, concentrated oils and concentrated ethyl esters. Atlas retains the source species or declared mixture, fishery or aquaculture origin, body or liver source, crude or refined state, concentration process and molecular form before comparing composition, quality, crop, price or trade records.

EPA and DHA percentages do not describe every fish oil the same way

The current standard requires at least 27 percent EPA plus DHA as a share of total fatty acids for oil from Engraulis ringens. Concentrated fish oil contains 35 to 50 percent EPA plus DHA by weight, while highly concentrated fish oil is above 50 percent. Concentrated ethyl esters use a 40 to 60 percent range and highly concentrated ethyl esters are above 60 percent. Atlas keeps the percentage basis, molecular form, named source and test method attached to every result rather than comparing unlike categories.

Oxidation evidence is a four-part control

Except for the high-phospholipid and high-wax-ester oils handled separately in CXS 329-2017 section 3.3.2, the standard caps acid value at 3 milligrams KOH per gram, peroxide value at 5 milliequivalents active oxygen per kilogram, anisidine value at 20 and ToTox at 26. ToTox is calculated as twice the peroxide value plus the anisidine value. Atlas preserves all four results, the sample, method, laboratory and date; one passing number does not substitute for the others.

A composition standard is not a delivered physical price

Codex requirements establish food-use identity and quality boundaries, not current availability or price. A delivered fish-oil price still requires a defined source species and oil form, current permitted physical observations, origin and production vintage, EPA/DHA and oxidation results, contaminant and residue evidence, lot quantity, package, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight, storage controls and information vintage. Atlas keeps any physical-price output unsupported when those fields or usage rights are missing.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are ordinary fish oil, concentrated fish oil and ethyl esters interchangeable?

No. Codex treats them as distinct forms with different composition descriptions and EPA-plus-DHA thresholds. The molecular form and percentage basis must remain explicit.

What oxidation limits apply to general fish oils under Codex?

For the oils covered by CXS 329-2017 section 3.3.1, acid value is at most 3 milligrams KOH per gram, peroxide value at most 5 milliequivalents per kilogram, anisidine value at most 20 and ToTox at most 26.

Why are krill and calanus oils handled separately for some quality limits?

CXS 329-2017 gives separate acid-value treatment to oils with at least 30 percent phospholipids, such as krill oil, and oils with at least 80 percent wax esters, such as calanus oil. Those composition distinctions must travel with the lot.

Which fields make physical fish-oil offers comparable?

Species or mixture, fishery or aquaculture source, body or liver origin, crude, refined, concentrated or ethyl-ester form, molecular basis, EPA/DHA profile, oxidation and contaminant results, additives, production and test dates, lot, package, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, storage controls and evidence date.