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Overview
The oil is produced from the blubber (surface fat layer) of adult harp seal (phoca groenlandica). Adult harp seals, only, are harvested. The seals are brought to shore for processing. Frequent boat trips to shore and by truck to the rendering plant, the low temperatures prevailing during February to late April and icing of the blubber ensures that only very fresh blubber of the highest quality is used in producing the oil. Standards for vessel and truck sanitation, hygiene and product temperature ensure that the raw materials are suitable for producing food grade oil. At the rendering plant, the blubber is separated from the pelt and the remaining carcass. The raw blubber is then carefully inspected to ensure that the blubber is fresh, wholesome, free of contamination and acceptable for producing food grade oil. The entire process is supervised by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), an arm of the Canadian Federal Government.
Rendering of seal blubber
· Seal blubber is rendered by a process of comminuting the blubber tissue and heating it to 80º C - 90º C and then separating the oil from the remaining tissue and moisture by centrifugation.
· Several centrifugation stages are used. In the first stage, most of the blubber tissue, bits of protein and some moisture are removed at relatively low gravity forces.
· In the second centrifuging stage, high gravity forces are used to remove finely suspended particles of protein and remaining moisture.
· The separated seal oil is then filtered to remove traces protein and blubber tissue.
· This “raw“ oil is then cooled and packed in food grade steel drums under a nitrogen atmosphere.
· The drums are stored at refrigerator temperatures until the oil is being refined.
Refining of raw seal oil
a) The need for refining.
The raw seal oil from the rendering plant still contains a variety of contaminants. Most noteworthy are flavour and odour compounds, breakdown products of oxidation of fatty acids and some colored compounds. In addition, there are still traces of proteinaceous material.
Flavour and odour compounds are obviously undesirable since they give the oil a fishy taste. Oxidation breakdown products also produce fishy and, of course, rancid tastes. They also catalyze further oxidation and are nutritionally undesirable. Finally, proteinaceous compounds, even present in trace amounts, are very deleterious to the odour, taste and colour of the oil.
All of these compounds are making the oil poorly suited for direct human consumption, even in capsules. They make the oil deteriorate very quickly and make it quite unsuitable as an ingredient for use in foods.
b) The process of refining.
The process steps used are essentially the same as those used for the refining of vegetable oils to produce cooking oils, margarines and shortenings. In the refining of seal oil to produce Arctic Omega–3 Oil, the process used for vegetable oils is modified to ensure that no damage is done to the highly sensitive omega-3 fatty acids. These modifications avoid the use of any chemical additions to the oil. This prevents the formation of omega-3 fatty acid artifacts and of isomerization reactions. These refining process modifications are patented. The refining plant operates under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) rules and under the supervision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
c) The process steps.
· The raw seal oil is first de-aerated by putting it under vacuum to remove any air from the oil.
· The oil is simultaneously heated under vacuum and contacted with food grade adsorbents.
· The adsorbents serve the purpose of removing some of the oxidized compounds, any proteinaceous materials and coloured compounds from the oil.
· The adsorbents are then removed from the oil by filtration.
· The filtered oil is then subjected to a process of steam distillation under high vacuum and at elevated temperature. In this process step, the compounds giving the oil taste and odour are removed. There is also a reduction in colour and in oxidized material.
· The result is a seal oil that is very low in oxidized compounds, completely bland in taste, has no odour and is very light-coloured. It is now capable of retaining its bland flavour in capsules and in foods.
· After the steam distillation, the oil is cooled and sparged with nitrogen gas as it leaves the equipment.
· It is then stabilized against oxidation with natural tocopherols (vitamin E, from soybean oil).
· The cooled, stabilized oil is packaged in food grade containers (steel drums, pails) and placed into freezer storage to preserve its freshly deodorized quality for use in capsules and as a food ingredient.