European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) updates risk assessment on mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food; highest MOH levels found in vegetable oils; notes that data gaps exist, especially in mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) impact on toddlers; “extremely likely” that dietary exposure to MOAH is a concern for toddlers; EFSA recommendations aim to guide EU policy on allowable MOH levels in food
EU panel re-examines health risks of mineral oil hydrocarbons in food
EFSA updates scientific opinion on mineral oil hydrocarbons in foodstuff; concludes some compounds pose health risk to EU population; public consultation is open for comments until April 30, 2023
Researches develop and evaluate methods for food contact chemical determination
Propose method to analyze chemical markers of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) from printing inks in food packaging; present workflow that includes in silico prediction tools to identify nonvolatile migrates from food packaging; evaluate efficiency and reliability of methodology for non-target identification of volatile substances
Global Food Contact Conference 2022: updates from the Americas
Smithers conference covers global developments in food contact regulations and materials; speakers on day one review recent and upcoming changes to food packaging regulations in the US, Canada, and the South American trade bloc Mercosur
Campaign detects mineral oil hydrocarbons in European food products
Foodwatch publishes test results of 152 food products sampled across Europe; finds mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in 12% of them at levels up to 82 mg/kg food; petition calls for EU leaders to recall contaminated products and implement a zero-tolerance rule prohibiting any detectable level in all foods
Workshop finds knowledge gaps around MOH in food
Trends in Food Science & Technology publishes outcome from multistakeholder workshop by International Life Science Institute “to identify knowledge gaps in analytical methods, assessment of exposure, hazard characterization, and risk assessment of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH);” highlights need for standardization of MOH measurements in food, finds few studies look at packaging material or foods packaged in materials other than paperboard
Updated draft of German mineral oil ordinance
German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture proposes requiring use of a functional barrier in food contact materials containing recycled paper; exemptions can be granted by demonstrating migration below 0.5 mg MOAH/kg food or 0.15 mg MOAH/kg food simulant; comments accepted until November 18, 2020
Critical commentary of mineral oil hydrocarbon study
Scientists from European government agencies publish comment reviewing Nestlé study comparing interlaboratory analytics of mineral oil hydrocarbons
German authorities find mineral oil hydrocarbons in baby formulas
Test results from German Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Offices (CVUA) show quantifiable levels of saturated (MOSH) and aromatic (MOAH) mineral oil hydrocarbons; Food Watch calls for EU-wide limits and no tolerance of MOAH
BfR: Lack of safety data for impurities in unrefined MOAH
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) publishes review article identifying lack of data on carcinogenic potential of less refined mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH), recommends minimizing impurities in food