Just months after production first began, scientists have given Veramaris’ algal oil "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) approval, the company said in an announcement.

As part of the process, an expert panel analyzed the natural marine algal oil that contains the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, Veramaris said.

GRAS is an Food & Drug Administration designation embedded in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

Veramaris said fish farmers across the U.S. will welcome the news as they "will now be able to enrich their fish with domestically produced Veramaris’ natural algal oil and reduce their reliance on increasingly volatile supply of imported fish oils. It also provides consumers with more nutritious and healthy seafood."

The team at the Veramaris production facility in Blair, Neb., have been ramping up production this year. The company has put in place special measures to ensure that the manufacturing process is not affected by the coronavirus causing COVID-19.

Speaking about the GRAS milestone, Varamaris chief executive officer Karim Kurmaly said, “We are all pleased that, as expected, our natural algal oil now has GRAS approval. It is another important milestone in our journey and means the U.S. aquaculture industry has a guaranteed source of algal oil in these very uncertain times.”

Veramaris noted that so far this year, the Blair site has produced almost twice the algal oil volumes as last year’s entire production from across three Veramaris sites.

Headquartered in Delft, Netherlands, Veramaris is a joint venture between DSM and Evonik. Established in 2018, Veramaris was formed to help realize a vision to conserve natural marine life by using the ocean's own resource, natural marine algae, to sustainably expand the world's access to omega-3 fatty acids.