The European Commission has officially added the synthetic antioxidant ethoxyquin to its banned list. In addition to imported fish meal , agricultural products fed with feed containing ethoxyquin are also banned from entering the EU

In August, 2022, the European Commission passed Regulation No. 2022/1375, which denied to reauthorize the use of ethoxyquin in all animal species and food categories, maintaining the continuous ban on this synthetic antioxidant for years.

Ethoxyquin is a cheap and effective antioxidant that is used not only to preserve food, but also to slow the aging of rubber, inhibit the oxidation of vitamins and even prevent the browning of fruit skin.

In the fishmeal, ethoxyquin can combine with long-chain unsaturated fatty acids (DHA, EPA) to form a protective layer, slowing down the oxidation rate and maintaining the effective concentration of Omega-3. Ethoxyquin has been widely used for many years because of its antioxidant effectiveness and low cost in preventing the fishmeal fatty acids from oxidizing, a process that can generate heat and even lead to spontaneous combustion of fish meal.

Brett Glencross, IFFO's technical director, said exporters would must carry out strict inspections of ethoxyquin-fed fish meal and farmed aquatic products in their factories to avoid detection of the residue by the EU.

“Even if you have another source of antioxidants be aware of the risk of potential carryover because the threshold for the markers that are being looked at [for monitoring purposes] is incredibly low,” he said.

For more details, see 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R1375&qid=1667271922613