From Folklore To Seven Seas

Cod Liver Oil already had a long history as a popular folk medicine among Nordic and Scottish fishermen when, in the 18th century, scientific research endorsed its reputation and Cod Liver Oil became accepted by the medical profession as a treatment for illnesses linked to malnutrition.

By the early 20th Century, Cod Liver Oil was used as a cure for the crippling bone disease, rickets, explained by the discovery that Cod Liver Oil was a rich source of bone-building Vitamin D as well as Vitamin A and polyunsaturated fats.

This was sufficient encouragement for the trawler owners of Hull to invest in the commercial production of Cod Liver Oil, essentially a by-product of the fishing industry. 

In 1935, Cod Liver Oil was launched with the brand name Seven Seas.

Not long afterwards, the first ever easy-to-take Cod Liver Oil Capsules were introduced, pioneering the now widespread use of soft gelatin capsules for healthcare products.

During the Second World War, Cod Liver Oil Liquid was distributed free to pregnant and nursing mothers and children up to five years old through the Ministry of Food’s Welfare Food Scheme - a product endorsement that has never been surpassed in the history of healthcare.

Seven Seas was the original producer of both Cod Liver Oil and orange juice for the Scheme which continued until the end of food rationing in the 1950s. At this time it was thought that Cod Liver Oil’s health value was solely due to its vitamin content. 

After the war, sales of Seven Seas branded Cod Liver Oil declined in the face of competition from newer multivitamin and mineral formulations, but everything changed in the 1970s with the discovery of the long chain Omega-3 fatty acids by scientists investigating the Eskimo Paradox. The Eskimos (Inuits) of Greenland seemed virtually immune from heart disease despite their high-fat diet of whale and seal blubber and oily fish. Danish researchers, Bang and Dyerberg, concluded that the long-chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in their diet must be health-protective – a conclusion confirmed by many thousands of subsequent research trials into heart health and other degenerative conditions. The realisation that Cod Liver Oil was a rich and rare source of these Omega-3 nutrients had an instant impact on sales.  Suddenly, Cod Liver Oil was at the forefront of nutritional science. 

As a result of the evidence that Omega-3 fish oils are heart-protective, the company introduced a new product pressed from the flesh of oily fish. In 1982, Seven Seas launched the first natural fish oil product which was available on prescription.

Seven Seas went on to launch an over-the-counter health supplement, Pulse Pure Fish Oils, with the strapline “helps maintain a healthy heart”.

Cod Liver Oil, meanwhile, was being repositioned as a supplement for healthy joints.  Although already widely used for the relief of stiff, aching joints, Cod Liver Oil relied on anecdotal evidence until sufficiently robust research supported the claim “helps relieve joint pains and stiffness” when its popularity soared.

Continued scientific endorsement, particularly recent work at the University of Cardiff headed by Professor Bruce Caterson, has assured its future as a simple and natural ally in maintaining joint health and mobility. 

Today’s Cod Liver Oil is a far cry from the original oil that had to be forced down from the spoon. The most widely used health supplement in the UK, Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil is available in capsules in a choice of strengths packaged in tubs and blister packs and as a clear, golden liquid in bottles. Seven Seas uses Cod Liver Oil’s proven health benefits in combination with other supplements like Calcium and Multivitamins and as a featured ingredient in its flagship Jointcare Glucosamine Range.

A patented process for Seven Seas NeutraTaste Cod Liver Oil for Daily Flexibility micro-emulsifies the oil into tiny droplets so that it is taste-free and repeat-free to attract a new generation of users.