Rapid risk assessment on the possible risk for public health due to the contamination of infant formula and follow‐on formula by mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH)

A Study on Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons (MOH) Contamination in Pig Diets and Its Transfer to Back Fat and Loin Tissues

This study assessed saturated mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH) and aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH) levels in grower-finisher feeds for pigs supplemented with 5% crude palm oil (CP), crude olive pomace oil (COP), olive pomace acid oil (OPA), or a blend of CP and OPA (50:50, w/w); the contribution of the lipid source to that contamination; and the ability of pigs to accumulate MOH in back fat and loin tissues after 60 days of trial. MOSH and MOAH were analyzed with liquid chromatography (LC)-gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detection (FID) after sample preparation. Among the lipid sources, CP had the lowest MOH levels, but CP feeds showed the highest contamination. This, along with the different MOSH profiles, indicated the presence of more significant contamination sources in the feeds than the lipid source. The higher MOH contamination in CP feeds was reflected in the highest MOSH levels in pig back fat, whereas MOAH were not detected in animal tissues. Also, MOSH bioaccumulation in pig tissues was influenced by the carbon chain length. In conclusion, feed manufacturing processes can determine the MOSH contamination present in animal adipose tissues that can be included in human diets.

The role of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in mineral oil determination

Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) contain a wide structural diversity of molecules, for which the reference method of analysis is the online coupled liquid chromatography-gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (LC-GC-FID). These compounds are very heterogeneous from a toxicological viewpoint, and an accurate risk assessment when dealing with a MOH contamination can only be performed if sufficient information is available on the types of structures present (i.e., number of carbons, degree of alkylation, number of aromatic rings). Unfortunately, the separation performances of the current LC-GC-FID method are insufficient for such characterization, not even mentioning the possible coelution of interfering compounds which additionally hinder MOH determination. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC), while mostly used for confirmation purposes in the past, starts to prove its relevance for overcoming the weaknesses of the LC-GC method and reaching even better the analytical requirements defined in the latest EFSA opinion. The present paper therefore aims at highlighting how GC × GC has contributed to the understanding of the MOH topic, how it has developed to meet the requirements of MOH determination, and how it could play a role in the field for overcoming many of the current analytical and toxicological challenges related to the topic.

Investigation of the effect of refining on the presence of targeted mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons in coconut oil

The goal of this work was to investigate the impact of refining on coconut oil particularly on the most toxicologically relevant fraction of the mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbon (MOAH) contamination, namely the fraction composed by the three to seven aromatic rings. A fully integrated platform consisting of a liquid chromatography (LC), a comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography (GC) (LC-GC × GC) and flame ionization detector (FID) was used to obtained a more detailed characterization of the MOAH sub-classes distribution. The revised EN pr 16995:2017-08 official method was used for preparing the samples, both with and without the auxiliary epoxidation step. Crude coconut oil was spiked with different MOAH standards, namely naphthalenes, alkylated naphthalenes, benzo(a)pyrene, and its alkylated homologues. Refining was modelled by deodorization at 230 °C, stripping with 10 kg/h of steam under 1 mbar vacuum for 3 h. Complete removal of the naphthalenes and reduction of more than 98.8% of the benzo(a)pyrenes was observed. Epoxidation had a significant impact on the MOAH fraction with more than three rings, but with a high dependency on the sample matrix, being significantly less evident in the refined samples than in the crude ones.

One-dimensional and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic approaches for the characterization of post-consumer recycled plastic materials

In September 2022, the European Commission published its new regulation on recycled plastic materials for food contact. It allows newly developed, non-authorized technologies and approaches, or so-called novel technologies, to be deployed in the field to generate the data needed for establishing regulatory and/or fit for purpose processes. The data shall be generated by using suitable methods, but the regulation does not give a more detailed description on those. In this study, commercially purchased buckets made of post-consumer recycled polypropylene were screened, using a number of different analytical approaches. Sample preparation methods, analysis techniques, and the data and information generated were compared. The results clearly demonstrate the need for a detailed characterization of such materials and the advantages and disadvantages of the analysis using conventional gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and mass spectrometery as well as two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography with time of flight mass spectrometry.

Survey of mineral oil hydrocarbons in Chinese commercial complementary foods for infants and young children

Recently, mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in various foods have raised significant concern, especially for infants and young children due to their potential adverse health effects. Two fractions can be distinguished by certain analytical techniques, mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). The toxicological profile of MOSH and MOAH differs greatly. The toxicity of MOSH is linked with long-term accumulation of some hydrocarbons. MOAH with three to seven, non- or simple-alkylated, aromatic rings may be mutagenic and carcinogenic. However, data on the occurrence of mineral oils in commercial complementary foods for infants and young children are lacking in China. In the present study, 100 commercial food samples were collected, including 26 pureed or paste canned foods, 21 high-protein ground cereal foods (rice flour), 25 raw cereal foods (noodles), and 28 cereal-based molar sticks and biscuits. The content of MOSH and MOAH in those samples was determined by optimised sample preparation methods combined with on-line high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with gas chromatography and flame ionisation detector (HPLC-GC-FID), with a limit of quantification of 0.5 mg/kg. The results indicated that there were no MOAH detected in any of the foods, but MOSH and polyolefin oligomeric saturated hydrocarbons (POSH) existed in most of the food samples, at <0.5-23.68 mg/kg. Moreover, the data and chromatograms of the MOSH and POSH also indicated that these contaminants were closely correlated to their ingredients and manufacturers. The current study provides basic data to understand MOH exposure and consequent health impact.

Dietary exposure to mineral oil hydrocarbons of Chinese infants aged 0-6 months

Consumers are exposed to a range of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) via food. The potential adverse health effect of MOH varies widely. Since infant formula (IF) is the major food source for infants, it is necessary to understand MOH exposure and consequent health impact. In the present study, occurrence data of 42 IF samples and food consumption data of 0-6 months infants from China National Food Consumption Survey in 2015 were linked to evaluate the dietary exposure to MOH of 0-6 months infants in China. Ordinary consumers (who purchased IF for 0-6 months infants in different packaging type randomly), packaging type loyal- and brand loyal-consumers were selected as three representative populations. For ordinary consumers and packaging-loyal consumers, dietary exposure to MOH was estimated both deterministically and probabilistically. For brand-loyal consumers, point-estimation was used as the exposure assessment method. Due to toxicological gaps for MOHs, it was inappropriate to derive health-based guidance value and perform the robust human health risk assessment. MOE approach was used to characterise MOSH risk. The no-observed-adverse-effect level for induction of liver microgranulomas, 19 mg/kg BW per day, was used as a reference point for calculating margins of exposure (MOEs) for MOSH exposure. Although first exposure occurs in babies, there are no relevant toxicology studies. All MOE values for different scenarios were higher than 100. There are no dose-response data on the carcinogenicity of MOAH mixtures and hence it is not possible to establish a reference point to calculate the MOE and characterise its risk. Therefore, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the full nature of possible concerns for infants aged 0-6 months. This study evaluates by a probabilistic approach the dietary intake of Chinese infants aged 0-6 months to MOH for the first time and describes the associated uncertainties.

Comparison of the Functional Barrier Properties of Chitosan Acetate Films with Conventionally Applied Polymers

The current demand to cut back on the use of plastic materials has brought a major boost to the search for bio-based alternatives. Not only are plastic bags and primary food packaging under scrutiny here, but also those materials used as functional barriers to reduce, for example, the migration of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) from recycled paper and board packaging. Most of the barriers now in use are synthetic, often have only moderate barrier functionalities and in addition reduce the environmentally-friendly character of cellulose-based materials. Against this background, bio-based polymers have been evaluated in terms of their functional barrier properties. Chitosan was found to be among the best performers in these materials. In this study, the behavior of a lab-made chitosan acetate film was compared with conventionally produced polymer films. The two-sided migration experiment described recently was used to determine the barrier properties of the tested materials. This not only allowed to test the intrinsic migration of the films and the permeation through them, but also to simulate real packaging situations by using a recycled paper as donor for MOH. The migrated fractions were determined using gas-chromatography-based techniques. While the conventionally produced polymer films showed only moderate barrier function, excellent results were seen for the biopolymer. It reduced the migration from the recycled paper to not detectable, singling it out as a good alternative to conventional materials.