RESEARCH AREAS
Mineral Oils
Identification and Quantification of MOAH and MOSH in Food matrices
Current state of the art
The quantification of MOSH/MOAH using LC-GC-FID has originally been standardised in EN 16995:2017. Further development of this procedure was done by DGF and ISO, which led to the very recent approval of ISO/DIS 20122 by ISO in order to replace EN 16995:2017. LC-GC-FID is used by an increasing number of laboratories for MOSH/MOAH determinations in food-related matrices. Still, the routine application regarding the quantification of the MOAH fractions is often hampered by interferences, which affect the reproducibility, especially at MOAH concentration levels near the LOQ. This is currently regarded as a major item of concern as the MOAH concentration levels tend to be close to the LOQ. The food categories defined by SCoPAFF containing lower fat contents (< 50 % and < 4 %) have not been included in the validation of current analytical protocols. It should be noted that 3+MOAH are considered especially harmful [1-4] but cannot be quantified with currently available protocols. Further, more detailed knowledge of the complex composition of the MOAH fraction is required to support the identification of contamination sources and enable risk assessment. In particular, the portion of 3+MOAH in total MOAH is still largely unknown.
Progresses beyond the state of the art
The consortium will significantly extend the reliability of MOAH quantifications by harmonising standard operating procedures for the elimination of interferences and assessing chromatograms, also for food matrices not yet covered during validation studies. This will enable routine quantification of MOAH (including 3+MOAH) with LOQ for all food categories as specified by SCoPAFF: 2.0 mg/kg for fats and oils and fatty foods with fat contents above 50 %, 1.0 mg/kg for foods with a fat content between 4 % and 50 % and 0.5 mg/kg for foods with a fat content below 4 %. To support this purpose, a video training will be developed to facilitate the harmonised integration of chromatographic humps and their interpretation. Furthermore, innovative methods for the separation of the individual components of the MOAH fraction will be tested and validated. The focus will be the differentiation between aromatic systems (1-2 ring MOAH vs. 3+MOAH). State-of-the-art instrumentation (e.g., LC-Q-ToF-MS, GC×GC-ToF-MS, GCxGC-MS/MS) will be evaluated, and significant progress is expected regarding the differentiation of MOAH patterns from different contamination sources and the question if and to what extent 3+MOAH are present in MOAH fractions.
[1] M. Biedermann et al., Quantification of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons by number of aromatic rings via comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography: First results in food, Journal of Chromatography Open, (2) 2022, 100072
[2] EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Scientific Opinion on Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons in Food. EFSA Journal 2012;10(6):2704. [185 pp.]
[3] EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), Arcella D. et al., 2019. 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). EFSA Supporting Publication 2019:EN1741. 18 pp.
[4] EFSA CONTAM Panel (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain), Schrenk D. et al., 2023. Update of the risk assessment of mineral oil hydrocarbons in food. EFSA Journal, 21(9), 1–143.