The contamination of food with different types of hydrocarbons is an on-going topic. In the past, the main focus was on mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH & MOAH), which were observed to migrate from food contact materials into food or entered the food at earlier stages of the production chain. Other food contact materials like polyolefins and hot-melt or pressure sensitive adhesives can also release aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons into food, which are mainly from synthetic origin. On-line HPLC-GC-FID is the analytical method of choice to quantify MOSH/MOAH. As a further method, GCxGC-MS can be used for the identification of different coeluting hydrocarbon contaminants.
The presentation provides a closer view on the limits and benefits of the routine method for MOSH/MOAH. Furthermore, a multiple approach to differentiate mineral oil and synthetic hydrocarbons via GCxGC-MS is presented.
Sebastian Säger, Laboratory Lommatzsch & Säger
