Recent developments in analysis of processing and environmental contaminants in edible oils and fats including MOSH/MOAH and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Dr Torben Küchler, Food Chemist / Product Manager, SGS Germany GmbH and Vice President of German Society for Fat Science (DGF)

There has been a lot of movement in the field of processing and environmental contaminants in edible oils and fats recently, both in terms of toxicological and legal assessment and in terms of progress and new challenges in the field of chemical-physical analysis. For the contamination with mineral oil, it is expected that regulatory maximum limits will come in force in the course of next year for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH).

New analytical strategies are presented in order to reduce the risk of over-detection and false-positive findings on the one hand, and to better characterise the composition of mineral oil contamination on the other. Of particular importance here is the number of aromatic rings in the MOAH. Also in discussion are the Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of flame retardants, as well as the commonly known dioxins an PCBs.

The amendment of the existing maximum limits resp. the implementation of new maximum limits is currently under discussion. In addition, the topics of 3-monochloro-propanediol esters (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl esters (GE), bisphenols and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are currently part of the current discussion, so that a brief insight into the status of current legislation and possibilities of analysis is also given here.

This presentation gives an overview of the most important topics currently being discussed, which contaminants are currently the most emerging ones and what the current findings are for fats and oils.