Aiming to capitalize on the Omega-3 health craze, Omega Protein Corp. will open this $17 million refinery in Reedville this summer. Visit the Photo Place

A fish-oil bonanza

Northern Neck menhaden firm is building a big refinery and planning to cash in on Omega-3 health craze.

By FRANK DELANO

Date published: 7/12/2004

Dropped any eicosapentaenoic or docosahexaenoic acid lately?

You know, EPA or DHA?

Joseph L. von Rosenberg III recommends you do.

He pops a dozen capsules a day. He calls them "smart pills" when he gives them to his children. He wraps them in cheese to feed to his dog.

The unutterable acids are also known as long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids. They are also called "essential" because the human body needs but does not produce them.

They are found in some plants, but most abundantly in fish and fish oils.

Von Rosenberg is the $758,450-a-year president and chief executive officer of Omega Protein Corp., the country's largest producer of fishmeals and oils from menhaden.

Menhaden is a herringlike fish that occurs in great numbers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Menhaden oil is the only marine source of Omega-3 recognized by the U.S. government as a generally safe ingredient in human food.

Food manufacturers use menhaden oils in margarines, soups, salad dressings and other foods to make them healthier for humans.

Von Rosenberg is a walking bibliography of the "mind-numbing" research on the health benefits of the Omega-3 fatty acids, which, he says:

Lower blood pressures and reduce heart disease.

Help inflammatory disorders such as Crohn's disease, arthritis and asthma.

Suppress the growth of some cancerous tumors.

Help manage mental disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's.

Now, Omega Protein is about to make the Northern Neck town of Reedville a major center of Omega-3 production. This summer, the company will open a new $17 million, 60,000-square-foot plant there to refine 100 metric tons a day of fish oil used in an increasing number of dietary supplements and food products.

Von Rosenberg is confident that the new Reedville refinery's patented capability to produce a variety of value-added, fish-oil concoctions will boost company sales and profits.

In 2003, Omega netted $4.9 million on sales of almost $118 million. Refined fish oils accounted for only $3.8 million of those sales, but von Rosenberg expects that number to grow apace with rapidly rising consumer and government awareness of healthy diets.

The new Reedville refinery will triple Omega's production of refined fish oil, he said.

Follow us on

Date published: 7/12/2004