Media Release
From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)Statement from the journal:
The NZMJ retracts the following article.
Are over-the-counter fish oil supplements safe, effective and accurate with labelling? Analysis of 10 New Zealand fish oil supplements Julia J Rucklidge, Shelby Hantz, Ian C Shaw NZMJ 20 September 2019, Vol 132 No 1502 ISSN 1175-8716
Errors are a part of science and publishing and require publication of a correction when they are detected. The ICMJE guidelines state that errors serious enough to invalidate a paper’s results and conclusions may require retraction. The editor has received the notice below from the authors of the above manuscript.
We request retraction of our paper Are Over the Counter Fish Oil Supplements Safe, Effective and Accurate with Labelling – Analysis of 10 New Zealand Fish Oil Supplements because we made errors in the calculation of the amounts of EPA and DHA in five of the fish oil supplement capsules which means that we have underestimated the doses. All are now within 15% of label value. This, in turn, affects our assessment of compliance with health claims; however, they remain variable. Our assessment of mercury risk is unchanged.
We apologise for this error.
Julia Rucklidge, Shelby Hantz & Ian Shaw
The editor has reviewed the information available and this appears to be an honest error that has led to a major change in the direction and significance of the results, interpretations, and conclusions.
The manuscript has therefore been retracted and appropriate notifications made.
Frank Frizelle
Editor NZMJ
