On Global Omega-3 Day, March 3, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) will mark its 20th anniversary.

Since its founding in 2006, the company has become a global association representing the entire EPA and DHA supply chain, with a focus on improving public health by increasing omega-3 fatty acid consumption.

After spinning off from a working group at the Council of Responsible Nutrition, GOED has had several notable achievements over its 20-year history.

The GOED Voluntary Monograph was developed to set a quality standard for the entire omega-3 category. Member companies must voluntarily adhere to strict standards of quality and ethics as outlined in the monograph as a condition of membership, helping to enhance consumer trust of GOED members’ products.

GOED has had a number of successes petitioning for international standards and intake recommendations, including supporting Article 13 claims in the EU in 2011; advocating for a Codex fish oil standard in 2017; achieving a qualified blood pressure health claim in the U.S. in 2019; and securing adjustments to proposed contaminants regulation around MOAH in the EU in 2024.

GOED launched a consumer education campaign in 2015, which reportedly increased omega-3 supplement sales and helped to change the tone of conversation around omega-3s in public-facing media. The initiative led GOED to set up consumer-facing platforms including AlwaysOmega3s.com.

GOED has supported scientific and technical leadership by developing tools to assist members in navigating the global landscape. These included the Clinical Study Database, which has indexed more than 50,000 published studies on EPA and DHA, including 5,000 human studies, in a searchable format that can be filtered by population, dosage, outcome, and more. The database functions similarly to PubMed, but is exclusively for studies on EPA and DHA. Additionally, GOED’s Global Omega-3 Navigator is an interactive tool with regulatory and technical information relevant to the omega-3 industry from around the globe to help members understand claims, recommended intakes, quality standards, and more.

Celebrating Global Omega-3 Day

March 3 was chosen as Global Omega-3 Day to highlight the gap between current global intake of EPA and DHA and the recommended daily intake for optimal health. According to GOED, 90% of the global population still doesn’t consume enough EPA and DHA.

“Our 20th anniversary is a time to celebrate how far we’ve come, but it’s also a call to action,” said Ellen Schutt, managing director of GOED. “The scientific basis for EPA and DHA for overall health is overwhelmingly positive, but the intake gap remains. Our mission for the next 20 years is to move from awareness to action, ensuring that every person understands that EPA and DHA intake is foundational to human health.”

Later this month, GOED will continue its anniversary celebration at the GOED Exchange 2026 in Singapore, taking place from March 17-19, where industry leaders will discuss the future of the category, including innovations in science, production, and messaging.