Jessy Edwards  |  May 14, 2021

Category: Legal News

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GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil does not contain “a single milligram” of EPA or DHA omega-3s, a nationwide class action claims.
(Photo Credit: sommail/DepositPhotos.com)

There’s something fishy about the marketing of GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil, according to a new nationwide class action lawsuit that alleges the product does not contain “a single milligram” of EPA or DHA omega-3s.

In the class action lawsuit filed Thursday in a California federal court, Plaintiff John Gatto alleges International Vitamin Corporation (IVC) and its subsidiary Nutra Manufacturing have violated federal and state laws in their marketing of GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil. 

The class action says IVC and Nutra manufacture, label and sell what they claim is “Triple Strength Fish Oil” containing of 734 mg of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and 266 mg of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA).

EPA and DHA are the essential omega-3 fatty acids that naturally occur in fish. However, the class action alleges that the product isn’t what it claims to be.

“Contrary to what is represented on the label, however, this Product is not fish oil, nor does it contain a single milligram of EPA or DHA,” it says.

“What was once natural fish oil has been subjected to a chemical process by which its molecular structure and constituent parts have been substantially transformed and irrevocably altered into a synthesized product that does not otherwise exist in fish, or nature.”

Gatto says the manufacturers of GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil have been profiting off the lucrative $1.9 billion global fish oil market with deceptive marketing. The companies sell one pack of 120 softgels of the product on the GNC website for $39.99.

Gatto says the reason the product is no longer fish oil is because it has been transformed through a chemical process known as trans-esterification. 

In this process, an industrial solvent is introduced into the fish oil, and then ethanol, stripping it of hundreds of its constituent sub ingredients, the class action says. The Omega-3s, which include DHA and EPA, are then converted into “ethyl esters.” 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection even taxes the product at a different rate than fish oil due to its different chemical makeup, the class action says.

“The most material representation on a dietary supplement label is the product name – the fundamental indicia of its contents,” the claim states. 

“Once trans-esterified, fish oil is irrevocably transformed, such that it is no longer fish oil and therefore cannot be so named or labeled. To do so, as IVC has done, is false, misleading, deceptive, unlawful, and perpetrates an actionable fraud on the consuming public.” 

Gatto says the product was sold to “tens of thousands of unsuspecting consumers throughout New York and the United States.”

He seeks to represent anyone who bought the product in the United States, along with a New York subclass. He’s asking for damages, restitution, penalties, an order preventing the defendants from incorrectly labelling the product, costs, fees and a jury trial. 

The class action alleges breach of warranty, and violations of California’s Business and Professions Codes and Civil Codes as well as New York General Business laws, and unjust enrichment.

Fish oil is sometimes at the center of class action lawsuits. In 2018, CVS faced a class action alleging its 100% Pure 300mg Omega-3 Krill Oil was marketed falsely as it allegedly only contained 60 percent of the omega-3 krill oil represented on the package. 

Costco has faced a similar class action, claiming it misrepresented the amount of Omega fatty acids in its Kirkland brand fish oil.

Do you trust the labels on your fish oil supplement tablets? Let us know in the comments! 

Gatto is represented by Michael D. Braun of Kuzyk Law, LLP and Laurence D. King, Maia Kats and Mario M. Choi of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP.

The GNC Fish Oil Marketing Class Action Lawsuit is Gatto et al., v. International Vitamin Corporation et al., Case No. 8:21-cv-00889-JLS-DFM, in the U.S. District Court Central District of California Southern Division.


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311 thoughts onGNC Triple Strength Fish Oil ‘Is Not Fish Oil,’ Class Action Claims

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