Mineral oil in food: how can we determine MOSH and MOAH?

Food contamination with mineral oil residues is a hot topic of discussion across the globe. The last 15 years had seen ongoing discussion and risk estimation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and non-profit organisations like foodwatch International are regularly testing food products for mineral oil residues. Recent examples with high levels of contamination include infant formula, Christmas chocolate products and butter.¹ Shimadzu can provide the fully automated testing solution for the determination of mineral oils in food and food packaging.

Introduction

Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) are divided into two groups: mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). MOSH consist of branched and unbranched open‑chain hydrocarbons called paraffines and cyclic hydrocarbons with at least one saturated ring called naphthenes. They can accumulate in the human body and cause granulomas. MOAH consist of aromatic substance classes that can be highly alkylated and have 1–4 rings. They make up 15–30 percent of the whole mineral oil fraction and contain potential mutagenic and carcinogenic substances.