COLUMBIA, MD. — Martek Biosciences Corp. has signed a five-year agreement with the Chinese company COFCO Food Sales & Distribution Co., Ltd. for the use of Martek’s life’sDHA, an omega-3 fatty acid ingredient, in COFCO cooking oils and potentially other categories. One of COFCO’s consumer products, Natural Grains Blended Cooking Oil with life’sDHA, already is available at retail outlets in China. The product features the life’sDHA logo on product packaging and in marketing, advertising and promotional materials.

“We are pleased to be working with COFCO, a leader and innovator in the Chinese cooking oil industry, to introduce the first healthy cooking oil with life’sDHA to Chinese consumers to help support brain, eye and heart health,” said David Abramson, president of Columbia-based Martek Biosciences. “This product launch is a significant milestone as we seek to expand our presence in international markets like China, and as we continue to diversify our product applications, including the large and growing cooking oil category.”

The ingredient life’sDHA includes docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a form of omega-3 fatty acid. The ingredient is derived directly from microalgae.