Enteric coating uses various compounds to coat the outside of soft gels to prevent them from being dissolved by stomach acids, so that the soft gel passes through the stomach to the small intestine, where it will then dissolve. We believe the main reason why fish oil soft gels are enteric coated is to prevent repeated burping. It is possible that enteric coating may be used to hide the fishy repeat associated with low-quality/rancid oils with high TOTOX numbers. Fresh fish oil with low TOTOX values does not need to be masked. It is also important to note that consumers with sub-optimal digestion may not digest and absorb fish oil from an enteric-coated capsule.