Mineral oil in foods
What is the problem?
Pasta, stock cubes, cereals, chocolate, even infant milk formula: many everyday foods are contaminated with harmful mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH). Some of these substances accumulate in the human body (MOSH), and others are potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic (MOAH).
Contamination with mineral oils can occur at any stage of food processing: it can come in during harvest, in the processing steps or even via the packaging. Common source of contamination is via storing of palm oil kernels or packaging made from recycled cardboard, or jute bags using treated with non-food quality oils. These sources of contamination have been known about for a long time and are often due to companies not using food grade oils or finding cheap solutions in the supply chain.
However, to date there is no regulation in place that protects consumers from mineral oil in food.
What is the solution?
Strict limits for the presence of MOSH and MOAH in food: A regulation at the European level is needed for establishing zero-tolerance limits for MOSH and MOAH in food. These limit values must be low enough to ensure that no contamination of food with potentially carcinogenic “mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons” (MOAH) is detectable using the most advanced methods of laboratory analysis. Food packaging must not release mineral oils or other harmful substances into the food. A "functional barrier", special layers that keep chemicals in packaging from getting into food, must be prescribed for cardboard packaging. Companies must not be allowed to use low-grade lubricants or cut corners in the safety of their products.
What is foodwatch doing?
foodwatch carried out laboratory tests in 2015, 2019 and again in 2021 to demonstrate the widespread occurrence of the harmful substances in various products. Over 100 products were found to be contaminated with MOAH, which is potentially carcinogenic. foodwatch organised several email campaigns targeting the European Commission and EU member states.
As a result, the EU put in place a temporary measure to restrict mineral oils in all foodstuffs, until the legislation can be agreed. We are now in the final chapter of getting a binding regulation on MOAH in the EU.