There has been some concern recently that cod liver oil has high levels of vitamin A, but this does not apply to Nordic Naturals products. This concern stems from the fact that almost all cod liver oil products on the market are supplemented with added vitamin A because many so-called cod liver oil products are not actually made from cod alone! Many brands use fish body oil (from species such as pollock or haddock) as a less expensive source of oil, and then add vitamins A and D to mimic cod liver oil. This practice is allowed because the international production of cod liver oil is sometimes regulated by only one rule—the final product must match the specific EPA ratio (EPA to DHA) found in cod liver oil.
These practices do not apply to the Nordic Naturals brand and never have been. We have always used 100% wild Arctic cod in our CLO formulas, which have consequently always had low, healthy levels of naturally occurring, fat-soluble vitamin A. We have never used fish body oils or any synthetic additives of any kind in our CLO. Nordic Naturals CLO typically averages 105–135 I.U. of vitamin A per serving, which falls in the low range compared to other manufacturers’ products that can contain more than 1350 mcg RAE per serving. The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for adults is 900 mcg RAE (3000 IU).