Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Review – Purity To Kill?

Marketing  |  Ingredients  |  Additives  |  Reviews  |  Pricing  |  Pros & Cons  |  Overall  |

According to the Kirkland Wild Alaska Fish Oil reviews posted by customers, this is the best Fish Oil we can get for the price. Others praise the fact that there’s no aftertaste or just taste in general for these. Others compliment the quality of the product. Whereas others more simply note that it’s absolutely worth the money.

So, in this Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil review, we will explore this particular Omega-3 Fatty Acids supplement in all of its detail and glory (or not).

Hence, the idea is to be no extension of the manufacturer’s marketing or other similar nonsense. This is all going to be about what I feel is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And we’ll do that in assessing for marketing, ingredients, side effects (additives), customer feedback, and pricing. We’ll do it the truth-seeking way.

Marketing | USP Makes This A Valuable Fish Oil Supplement In Many Eyes

Typically I tend to use this section to look at various aspects of the product page for the particular supplement. However, in the case of Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil, I’m unable to access it. Costco (the real brand behind the supplement) is not really welcoming to traffic from Europe. Moreover, they’re not showing any love to free proxy servers either.

Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Review

So, this time we’ll have to limit ourselves to what we can deduct from the entirety of the supplement label [R].

Right off the bat, there are the two primary health claims they make. So, according to them, this is going to help support heart health and foster a normal range of Triglycerides.

Hence, generally speaking, really generalistic claims. It feels as if they don’t want to invest in that aspect for whatever reason.

Another thing that immediately springs into view is the USP-verified seal. Which is a certification which carries the meaning of being properly tested for purity and potency. Furthermore, it does also show up on the official USP-approved products list [R].

Another thing they put on the label is this notion of being sustainably sourced. But it doesn’t come with third-party certifications for that. It’s kind of their self-proclaimed thing.

As for any free-of claims, they do not bother to list anything.

But overall, USP certification is probably the biggest factor in people trusting this as a viable Fish Oil. But is this Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil truly worth the money?

Ingredients | To Review Beneficial Aspects, It Is Still Very Questionable

The Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil is a rather potent, good-looking, supposedly trustable product. At least that’s what I thought when I first saw the label. The truth, however, seems to be a bit more complex than that.

So, per serving (one capsule), the supplement of this review offers 1,400 milligrams of 100% Natural Fish Oil in which we’ll find 330 milligrams of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, 670 milligrams of Omega-5, Omega-6, Omega-7, Omega-9, Omega-11 Fatty Acids, and 270 milligrams of Other Fatty Acids. On top of that, there are also 270 micrograms or 900 IU of vitamin A (as Retinol) and 0.75 micrograms or 30 IU of vitamin D3 (as Cholecalciferol).

Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Ingredients

Thus, supposedly everything looks really good, especially given that there’s the USP certification badge.

So, tell me. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you see this certification?

Do you immediately see the product as something tested for purity, tested for safety, tested for potency, and thus, something definitely worth checking out?

That’s what I do. Typically. In the case of this one, it’s quite controversial, however.

As it turns out, despite this certification the Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil doesn’t deliver what it promises. It actually has less than half of what they promise on the label. I mean, how’s that possible? But it is [R, R].

It’s hard to say whether this is something that would raise concerns in trusting the USP’s accuracy in general or is it the doing of Kirkland Signature where, for example, half of the batch fits every label claim and the other half doesn’t (because no third-party laboratory tests every supplement in the batch; it’s usually a select few of each totally by random that get tested).

And so, two things I feel are for sure.

First, given that USP doesn’t provide any actual certificates of analysis (only a list of supplements that have supposedly passed the testing and its set criteria), I think it’s the less trustable of all third-party certifications. They should really start providing those certificates on analysis. And second, Kirkland is a brand to avoid until, so to say, further notice [R].

It’s just too big of a risk, in my opinion, to get scammed and not get a quality product. A risk that certainly is not worth taking given the many quality options out there.

And, really, there’s another aspect. Yes, the other Omega Fatty Acids (5, 6, 7, 9, 11) look nice. But what we’re really after is Omega-3; more specifically DHA and EPA amounts. And this doesn’t specify those at all (not all Omega-3s are either DHA or EPA). So, it likely does not contain much of them at all [RRRRRRRRR].

Plus, the Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil doesn’t even remotely get to the 1000 milligrams of combined EPA and DHA (in the ratio of 3:2) that is considered to be the best and most optimal approach for general health and well-being [RRRRRRRRRRR].

Side Effects | This Supplement Does Not Struggle With Additives

Side effects are typically the product of additives whereas additives come in all kinds of shapes and forms. Many people are completely unaware of the fact that while many are harmless, there are also those that don’t fit that mold at all. Cancer, liver disease, and heart disease are just a few of the ailments that can be created by consuming the wrong kind of ingredients [R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R].

There Are A Ton Of Different Harmful Forms Of SugarSo, how well does the Alaskan Fish Oil of Kirkland does in this regard?

Well, it’s not something plagued by Polysorbates like we’ve seen to be the case with Nature Made Fish Oils (review). It’s also not the case of likely using Shellac like what we’ve seen with Dr. Tobias Fish Oil (review). And neither has it fallen prey to sugar and some of its worst forms like what we’ve seen with some of the Nature’s Bounty Fish Oil (review) supplements [R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R].

It’s all quite well and good actually. Kind of like NutraSea Omega-3 (review) or New Chapter Wholemega (review).

In this Kirkland Fish Oil, there’s Gelatin, which in its essence is an extremely beneficial substance. Then there’s Water. There’s also Glycerin that is something harmless. And finally, there’s vitamin E as a Mixed Tocopherol to preserve freshness. Something that’s commonly used in supplements as the beneficial ingredient as well [R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R].

So, as far as the other added ingredients, at least there’s nothing disastrous there. Whereas being an improperly purified Fish Oil can mean high Mercury, Lead, and other admixture levels. And this can lead to a wide variety of different problems, as well as a plethora of various chronic diseases [R, R, R, R, R, R].

Reviews | The Incredible Feedback In Reviews Masks The Reality Well

Generally speaking, customer reviews and global success rates are a highly controversial subject for the Kirkland Signature Alaskan Fish Oil. To an extent, they are terribly misleading about the overall beneficialness of the product. But one step at a time.

Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Customer FeedbackFirst, the manufacturer’s own accumulated reviews; that’s what I typically look at.

Well, given that I have no access to Costco’s website, we won’t be looking at those. But that’s not a big loss given how often these are straight out deceiving and often adjusted, and just generally feel tampered with.

And thus, they are kind of useless when it comes to seeking truth and finding the actual global success rates.

And so, let’s go into those that I found by other sellers and retailers.

In total, I managed to come across 170 Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil reviews. Of these, 162 were positive and eight were negative. Hence, standing for a very, very high global success rate of 95.3%. But as great as it sounds, there’s a danger here.

It’s not uncommon from time to time to come across supplements that have a success rate that they don’t really deserve. I am yet to encounter that by Fish Oils but with multivitamins, it’s no rare thing. The Centrum Women (review) and the Smarty Pants Prenatal (review) are just some of a plethora of examples.

The True Danger Here Is Trusting The Success Rate

The true danger here is that although these supplements all enjoy high and sometimes ridiculously high success rates, they are not great or even just good supplements to take. And the same I feel is with this Wild Alaskan Fish Oil created by Kirkland.

Do you recall what we talked about earlier in the section when discussing core ingredients? This notion that it has less than a half in it of what it claims on the label?

And God knows, what else doesn’t fit what they are saying. I mean, for all we know, it may not be a pure enough Fish Oil at all. It’s just something that no amount of great success rates can erase.

I mean, it may still look so good on paper. But when it comes to reality, from what I can tell, it’s bad. I wouldn’t ever take it myself, even if I got paid to do it.

Pricing | I Wouldn’t Say Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Is Awesomely Priced Either

When we look at the Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil reviews, not a lot of them complain about the price. I mean, frankly, there are none at all that do that. But is the price genuinely a good deal?

So, the product typically costs around $25.38 per container. That’s for 230 softgels. Hence, given that one serving is one softgel, that’s a price of 11.0 cents per serving (softgel). Or that’s 33.3 cents per every 1000 milligrams of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Well, how does that compare?

It May Feel Cheap But It Is NotIf we compare it to something like the Viva Naturals Fish Oil (review), the difference is actually staggering.

Meaning, this one comes for $38.95 per container. That’s 90 servings of 2000 milligrams of Omega-3. Or to do the math, that’s $0.43 per serving or 21.6 cents per every 1000 milligrams of Omega-3. Hence, that’s a good 35% less than the supplement of this review.

I mean, it’s not just that. It’s not just the price. Viva Naturals adds proper amounts of DHA and EPA which when it comes to Kirkland, we know nothing about. Sure, it adds those other Omegas but we don’t quite need those like we need Omega-3s. Plus, Viva Naturals is properly purity-tested by IFOS.

There’s like a Grand Canyon between the two. I mean, I wouldn’t ever risk Kirkland. But Viva Naturals I’d be happy to do.

Now, throw that against something like the Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega (review), and the picture doesn’t change much. I mean, sure, Nordic Naturals typically are almost two times the price. Still, the difference in quality, EPA/DHA ratios, additives, and just everything else is uncanny. It absolutely knocks out of the park.

And despite the price difference, I would personally always prefer it over this rather extremely mediocre and unreliable Kirkland Fish Oil. Plus, if the price is truly a very important factor, Viva Naturals is the significantly better bet.

I mean, the way I see it, it doesn’t really ever make sense to go with the product of this review.

Pros & Cons | Kirkland Fish Oil Has Way Too Strong Flaws

Pros Cons
The product offers a wide variety of Omega Fatty Acids. Despite the USP certification, the Kirkland Wild Alaska Fish Oil has been found to not be pure and congruent with what they list on the label. It can be extremely dangerous and detrimental to consume Fish Oils like that.
It has good additives. The supplement doesn’t contain any meaningful amounts of Omega-3 (the most important Omega Fatty Acid).
It has good success rates and customer reviews. It likely doesn’t contain any meaningful EPA and DHA amounts (two most important Omega-3 Fatty Acids).
The price is actually not good for what we’re getting.

Overall | Looking Good On Paper Is Not The Same As Actually Being Good

People will say that there’s a lot to love about this Wild Alaskan Fish Oil of Kirkland. That it’s great and that it has helped them a lot and whatnot. However, the way I see it, the truth is something significantly more different.

Sure, everything on the label seems fine (apart from this low-quality approach of not clearly indicating EPA and DHA amounts). Additives look fine. Success rates look amazing. But what about that notion of having 40-50% of the good stuff that the label claims despite having a third-party certification of potency, as well as purity and safety?

Avoid This Supplement HardYeah, not exactly what high-quality brands do. I mean, can you even for a brief moment imagine this being the case with brands like Nutrigold, Nordic Naturals, or Wiley’s Finest? I can’t. And that’s my point.

I feel I’ve echoed this throughout the review again and again but it bears one last emphasis. I believe the Kirkland Fish Oil is not even a poor Fish Oil. It’s far beyond that. And hence, (out of avoid it, consider it, shortlist it, buy it) I recommend that we all avoid it.

On that note, I have done some truly in-depth research on what the actually best Fish Oils are. Here’s the article if you’re interested.

Above all, I hope this Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil review helped you find the information you were looking for. If you have any thoughts or questions, I’m all here for you. And do feel free to leave your own personal reviews on the product as well.

16 thoughts on “Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Review – Purity To Kill?”

  1. Hey, I am quite new to this topic, but it is fitness-related. So allow me to recap everything I just read.

    Apparently the industry of supplements has some aspects to take into account and need not to be taken for granted, such as the reviews in retail stores’ websites, the certification from USP and even the nutrition facts displayed on the product. Is that so? Please correct me if I am wrong.

    As I told you I am new to this like you would never imagine. I have never used a supplement product to enhance or improve my performance in fitness in any aspect at all. I haven’t reached that level of awareness and necessity to be thorough in my nutrition and reach out to others aside from regular healthy meals.

    I did not know about this happening in the fitness realm, it is really concerning how little you can really take out from the brands promoting their products as legitimate and accurate. Do you know, aside from product reviews, if there is a reliable place to look for products like these supplements?

    Well actually re-reading there is a related post about legitimate products reviewed so hopefully not everything is doomed.

    Also I am sure you have an article about the benefits of supplements and fish oils in nutrition in your collection of close to 242 articles (yes I went through the count), but I did not quite check if it was. I would love to know about the benefits so please if you can reply with one related article.

    Reply
    • Hey, Duvan!

      Yes, that’s 100% correct. The label is important. But there is definitely more than what just goes on the label. Hence, I’m here to raise awareness in all aspects of supplements.

      I haven’t found a single seller or retailer by which one could buy just any product (without taking an in-depth look at it) and get a good one. But there certainly are sellers that offer more good than bad; iHerb would be such a place.

      At this time, I don’t really have a separate article for the benefits of Fish Oil. But insights and references you can get from the best-of list for those.

      I hope that helps!
      Cheers,
      Matiss

      Reply
  2. Fish oil is a daily routine for me. I grew up eating whale meat every day and fish which has a lot of healthy ingredients. However, I use the Norwegian version of Kirkland Wild  Alaskan Fish oil. It is called Møllers Tran in Norwegian. It is a codfish oil. I have no idea if it lives up to its expectations as good fish oil or how it is doing compared to Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish oil. It would have been fun to find out.

    Reply
    • Hey, Hilde!

      Yeah, that’s a great routine. And wow, that sounds awesome. I am yet to try whale meat.

      As for Møllers Tran, it looks like a decent one. The beneficial ingredients are great although the EPA and DHA ratio is upside down. The additives are good. What I’m not so fond of is the fact that I’m not sure if Møllers third-party tests their products.

      Cheers,
      Matiss

      Reply
    • Hey, Vika!

      I champion anything that in my own research I have found to be good or great. To that end, typically, any product that you can find a link to on the website will be an affiliate link (typically big red buttons). :)

      It just helps out a lot. And if you think we earned it, please do use those as it helps out tremendously. :)

      Have a Great Day!
      Matiss

      Reply
  3. Aside from no EPA/DHA numbers, it’s also advertised as ‘extra virgin.’ Why do that unless something else fishy going on? Usually that term is about olive cooking oil, but on these fish capsules? No need for it; a first time occurrence; meant to hide more of the truth, that would be about how much processing went into this Kirkland product. And let’s face it, big money created Costco and it’s overshoot corporations in other parts of the world. We already know that grocers rip consumers off as a matter of course (do your research on fresh meat techniques, processed meat, vegetables and fruit (GMO), etc.), and it’s plain to see that this Kirkland product raises lots of red flags. Their paper products may be good, but that isn’t food. Steer clear of this ‘Alaskan Fish Oil!’

    Reply
    • Hey, Daenr!

      I think that’s a great point that you’re making. I mean, I couldn’t agree more. Extra Virgin isn’t something that we’ll ever see on another Fish Oil supplement. Indeed, there is no such thing as an Extra Virgin Fish Oil. It’s just some random marketing thing to appear nicer or more compelling for the customer.

      Yeah, for sure, there are more concerns with Kirkland products than this article goes into. But regardless, the bottom line is to avoiding it at all costs.

      Cheers,
      Matiss

      Reply
  4. Thank you for your post. It is incredibly useful to me. Currently, I am actually using Kirkland Wild Alaskan Fish Oil, since it was recommended by a friend. After reading your article though, I feel that I need to let this one go (in the trash it goes!).

    I particularly enjoyed the section on USP certification. It is amazing that despite it the supplement still doesn’t deliver what it promises. I was so, so, so surprised that they have less than half of what they claim on the label. Such a rip-off. I don’t think I’ll ever be buying anything from them again. Ever.

    I will for sure check out that best-of list. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Hey, Anthony!

      I’m delighted to hear this proved helpful. Thank you for letting me know.

      Also, I definitely agree with it being a rip-off. That shouldn’t happen. Especially since the USP seal is there.

      Be sure to let me know if you need any further input with the list or if there happen to be any ideas you want to run by me!

      Cheers, and have a Great One!
      Matiss

      Reply
  5. I spent about 1 1/2 hours going through your website. There is a ton of useful information. You are obviously highly educated in the subject of supplements.

    But here are my main quibbles. The articles are very long and full of textbook like information, much of which I didn’t understand. Not sure who the intended audience is (though you seem to be reaching them, judging by the comments you are receiving).

    Your articles are too long and need some editing. I don’t see your average joe reading through what is like a textbook – which isn’t a bad thing, but it does tie in to what your intended audience is. Too technical – I take multivitamins and have no idea how I would see if you have reviewed the product. Need a list of the essential nutrients and what makes them essential. A lot of what you write about I simply didn’t understand. In all fairness, when I was younger I worked out daily and paid very close attention to what I put in my body and the information you provide would have been very useful. I would want an easy way to get to a review of a product I’m interested in. And by easy, I mean fast. Me, if I can’t find what I am looking for within a short couple of pages (a couple thousands of words at the most) or lots of clicks, I move on to another website.

    The first two items on your main menu don’t seem different enough to warrant two separate tabs.

     I didn’t read every single article, but I did follow some of the links and got lost pretty quickly.

    But all in all, you have constructed a very informative website.

    Reply
    • Hey, Terry!

      You’ve no idea how much I appreciate the feedback. And thank you for taking the time to write it out and get a sense of the website. I mean, I feel there just aren’t such words in English to express properly how grateful I am for this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. <3 <3 <3

      Cheers, and have a Great One, Terry!
      Matiss

      Reply
  6. USP certification sounds good. I tend to search for supplements that are tested and have the certification to prove it. How it is possible to fake this certification I am not sure. But reading this review makes me want to stay away from the product.

    On the additive part, the product is good as you write and attractive in that respect. But taking into account the fact that the product does not contain what it is claiming to have is a big turn-off on my part. Regardless of the certification it has, the total picture of the product is not top quality.

    Reply
    • Hey, Roy!

      Sorry I haven’t managed to get back to you sooner. I hope you’re doing well.

      I definitely agree. Couldn’t agree more actually. It’s very far from the top.
      I mean, given all we’ve discussed, I’d even go as far as saying it’s a scam.

      Cheers, and have a Great One!
      Matiss

      Reply
  7. It seems here we have another seller of a product making false or misleading statements about what their product contains. It is quite obvious from this person’s research that the contents of the product fall short of the claims on the label. This is a very good example of why we need consumer advocates to investigate products like these so people do not get scammed by buying a product that does not contain what it says it does. Bigger fines would also help keep these situations far less frequent.

    Reply
    • Hey, Bill!

      Yeah, I can only agree. I too feel this is a great example of why doing research and doing it properly in-depth about any supplement we plan on embracing matters so much.

      And yeah, maybe… Maybe bigger fines could help with this. It could definitely be a start though.

      Cheers, and have a Great One!
      Matiss

      Reply

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