The presence of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food was first highlighted by Biedermann and co-workers in 1989 (Biedermann et al, 1989), but the main discussion started 20 years later when the same authors related the presence of high MOH levels to the use of recycled fibers for food contact material (Biedermann et al., 2009). The analysis of such contaminants in food is a challenging task, mainly due to the high complexity of the matrices and the high affinity with the lipid fraction and many of its components. Due to this challenge, the use of powerful confirmatory techniques is required. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2012) confirmed the use of on-line LC-GC/FID as the most effective method for the analysis of MOH, but the presence of false positives and doubts on the nature of the unresolved chromatographic hump with this analysis still remains. Therefore, this analysis needs to be supported by a more powerful technique for confirmatory purposes. Although, some authors look toward mass spectrometry, GC×GC-MS/FID seems to be the most promising solution, as is also being stressed by EFSA. However, additional proof of concepts need to be provided to convince those who remain sceptical. This goal of this work is to provide additional and conclusive support to confirm the valid use of GC×GC as a EU regulated confirmatory method.

Application of GCxGC-TOF MS/FID as a powerful tool for routine and confirmatory analysis of mineral oil contamination in food

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.