On October 27, 2015 the non-profit organization Foodwatch launched an email petition to take action against mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in food (FPF reported). Foodwatch demands 1) an EU-wide mandatory requirement of functional barriers in (recycled) paper and board food packaging to prevent migration of MOSH and MOAH from the packaging into food and 2) specific limit values for MOSH and MOAH in food to reduce contamination not only from food packaging but also from food production and processing steps. So far, the petition has accumulated nearly 50,000 signatures.

Along with the petition, Foodwatch published the results of a study measuring mineral oil contamination in a range of dry food products from Germany, France and the Netherlands packaged in paper or board (FPF reported). 83% of tested products contained MOSH and 43% contained MOAH. In response to the study’s findings, affected cereal manufacturer Hahne announced to start deploying functional mineral oil barriers in its packaging. Further, German supermarkets Kaufland and Real have pulled affected rice products from their shelves.

Read more

Foodwatch (October 27, 2015). “Mineralöle in Reis, Grieß & Co.(in German)

Clondalkin (November 23, 2015). “Clondalkin supports bid to eliminate the migration of harmful mineral oil.

EUWID (November 26, 2015). “Kampagne von foodwatch zeigt Wirkung.(in German)

European Carton Makers Association (2015). “ECMA statement on the Foodwatch research publication.

Smithers Pira (December 8. 2015). “Petition on mineral oil contamination gathers 48,500 signatures.

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