You may hear people say that fish oil and fish liver oil are afraid of heat, light and oxygen, so they need to be stored in a brown bottle and stored in the refrigerator. Is this true? The answer is not certain, it depends on the packaging method of the product.  

When talking about the preservation of nutrients, "light", "heat" and "oxygen" are often mentioned:  

● "Light" refers to the ultraviolet light in the yang light that produces free radicals, causing oxidative damage;  

●"Heat" refers to temperature. Some nutrients are not tolerant of high temperatures. For example, if water-soluble vitamin B1 exceeds 100° C may be damaged, so cooking will lead to the loss of vitamin B1 in food. However, fish oil, fish liver oil or general nutrients are not cooked, and the room temperature is not high enough to destroy nutrients, so general nutrients are only allowed to be stored in the cold.  

●"Oxygen" refers to the exposure to air, which contains about 21% oxygen. Due to the chemical activity of oxygen, almost most elements can react with it. When the oil is exposed to oxygen, it will cause oxidation and acidity, so vitamin E is added to many oils to protect against oxidation.  

Fish oil or fish liver oil in the form of capsules is mostly wrapped in plastic bottles. The plastic bottle can be separated from the sun no matter what color, so it is not bad whether the bottle is brown or dark. Since the capsule can act as a barrier to isolate oxygen, even if it is opened, if stored properly (do not place it directly under the sun or exposed to high heat, but in the dark), it can be stored at room temperature, and its quality can still be maintained until the shelf life marked on the product.  

p.s. Generally, nutrients are like this. Just store them in a dry place, and do not store them in the refrigerator!  

However, if you buy liquid fish oil or fish liver oil products, because this type of liquid products is used in glass bottles, because the glass will transmit light, it is best to buy brown or dark bottle products to reduce the chance of yang passing through the glass and touching the oil. In addition, since the outer layer of liquid fish oil/fish liver oil does not have a capsule to block the air, once opened, the oil inside will be directly exposed to the air, which will cause oxidative acid failure due to exposure to oxygen.  

Although most fish oil products will add vitamin E as an antioxidant, for super-insufficient and fatty acids ω-3 fatty acids, the antioxidant ability of single use of vitamin E is not enough to achieve complete antioxidant protection. Therefore, after opening the seal, liquid fish oil/fish liver oil must be stored in the refrigerator, and low temperatures can be used to reduce the occurrence of oxidation to avoid oxidative acid failure of the oil; in addition, it is best to use it as soon as possible after opening the seal.  

Conclusion: If it is capsule type fish oil or fish liver oil, it does not need to be stored in the refrigerator. Liquid type fish oil or fish liver oil needs to be stored in the refrigerator only after it is opened.

Author Introduction_Stella

has been working in nutrition for more than 20 years. He has served as a nutritionist at a fattening center, clinic, American business company and health learning center. He specializes in dietary nutrition, health care nutrition, weight reduction and other fields.  Certification: Professional and Technical Personnel of the Republic of China for College Entrance Examination Qualified Nutritionist; Member of Taipei Nutritionist Association. Specialist: Inquiry on nutritional care such as weight loss/disease/pregnancy, consultation on health care nutrition, writing articles, editing textbooks, and lectures.  Books: "New discovery of fat loss: A fat loss method without calculating calories", "Golden proportions, good figure: the standard prescription of nutrients", "Anti-disease and high immunity eggs".  Blog: Nutrition Stella's Weight Reduction& Nutrition Blog