Johnson Index

The Johnson Index was created in honor of Ann L. Johnson, M.D., a psychiatrist/ psychopharmacologist who retired as a Director of Martek in March 2005, after serving on the Board for 10 years. Dr. Johnson’s interest in the neurological and mental development of infants and children was instrumental in the development of this index. Dr. Johnson was a physician on the psychiatry staff of Mills Peninsula Hospital and the neonatology staff of Children’s Hospital Stanford from 1992 to 2001. She also conducted a private practice in psychiatry and psychopharmacology.

The Johnson Index is a database which tracks the number of infants, toddlers and pregnant/nursing women by year who have received DHA and/or ARA from products enriched with life'sDHA™ and/or life'sARA™. This index may be used by researchers in the future to detect potential reasons for trends in brain, eye and heart health. DHA is a major structural fatty acid in the brain and retina accounting for up to 97% of the omega-3 fatty acids in the brain and up to 93% of the omega-3 fatty acids in the retina. DHA is also a key component of heart tissue.

Infant Formula

Approximately 43 million infants are estimated to have been fed infant formula containing Martek's DHA and/or ARA since the beginning of 1998.  Approximately 10 million infants consumed formula with Martek's oils in 2008 alone.

* Martek's estimate of infant formula consumers is based on DHA and ARA shipments to infant formula customers, inclusion levels of DHA/ARA by customer, estimated consumption by stage of formula, and annual infant consumption estimates.