Over one third of European fish oil supplements contain dioxin levels far exceeding European Union's (EU) food safety limits, show tests conducted by Food Standards Agency (fsa), a UK-based food safety watchdog group. The tests were conducted on 33 products, of which 12 were found to exceed the limits extensively. Maximum contamination was found in cod liver oil products. Experts say young children are most vulnerable to health hazards due to this.

The fsa results were confirmed by the Committee on Toxicity (cot), which says that if consumed, the products would cause consumers to highly exceed tolerable intakes. Another study suggests that Europeans are also exposed to high levels of industrial contaminants through farmed fish.