Development of a manual method for the determination of mineral oil in foods and paperboard.

So far the majority of the measurements of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) were obtained from on-line high performance liquid chromatography-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (on-line HPLC-GC-FID). Since this technique is not available in many laboratories, an alternative method with more easily available tools has been developed. Preseparation on a small conventional liquid chromatographic column was optimized to achieve robust separation between the MOSH and the MOAH, but also to keep out the wax esters from the MOAH fraction.

Evidence for cosmetics as a source of mineral oil contamination in women.

Background: There is strong evidence that mineral oil hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body, amounting to approximately 1 g per person. Possible routes of contamination include air inhalation, food intake, and dermal absorption. The present study aims to identify the most relevant sources of mineral oil contamination.

Aromatic hydrocarbons of mineral oil origin in foods: method for determining the total concentration and first results.

An online normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detection (FID) method was developed for the determination of the total concentration of the aromatic hydrocarbons of mineral oil origin with up to at least five rings in edible oils and other foods. For some samples, the olefins in the food matrix were epoxidized to increase their polarity and remove them from the fraction of the aromatic hydrocarbons. This reaction was carefully optimized, because also some aromatics tend to react.

Search for a more adequate test to predict the long-term migration from the PVC gaskets of metal lids into oily foods in glass jars.

As shown previously, the conventional testing procedure for simulating long-term migration from the gaskets of metal closures into oily foods does not adequately reflect reality. It appears to be impossible to accelerate migration to the extent that the situation at the end of the shelf life of a product can be anticipated in a few days or weeks. Therefore, we investigated whether long-term migration could be extrapolated from migration rates determined for new lids.

Activated aluminum oxide selectively retaining long chain n-alkanes: Part II. Integration into an on-line high performance liquid chromatography-liquid chromatography-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection method to remove plant paraffins for the determination of mineral paraffins in foods and environmental samples.

Aluminum oxide activated by heating to 300-400 degrees C retains n-alkanes with more than about 20 carbon atoms, whereas iso-alkanes largely pass non-retained (with characteristics described in more detail in Part I). This property is useful for the analysis of mineral oil contamination of foods and other matrices: it enables the removal of plant n-alkanes, typically ranging from C(23) to C(33), when they disturb the analysis of mineral paraffins (usually almost exclusively consisting of iso-alkanes). An on-line HPLC-LC-GC-FID method is proposed in which a first silica gel HPLC column isolates the paraffins from the bulk of edible oils or extracts and is backflushed with dichloromethane.

Activated aluminum oxide selectively retaining long chain n-alkanes. Part I, description of the retention properties.

Aluminum oxide activated by heating to 350-400 degrees C retains n-alkanes with more than about 20 carbon atoms, whereas iso-alkanes largely pass the column non-retained. Retention of n-alkanes is strong with n-pentane or n-hexane as mobile phase, but weak or negligible with cyclohexane or iso-octane. It is strongly reduced with increasing column temperature.

Contamination of grape seed oil with mineral oil paraffins.

The contamination of 11 commercial grape seed oils with paraffins of mineral oil origin was analyzed by online-coupled HPLC-HPLC-GC-FID and ranged from 43 to 247 mg kg(-1). The analysis of the marc and seeds indicated that the contamination is primarily from the peels. Since superficial extraction of the seeds with hexane removed most of the mineral paraffins, the contamination of the seeds is largely on the surface, perhaps transferred from the peels during storage of the marc.

Mineral oil paraffins in human body fat and milk.

Paraffins of mineral oil origin (mineral paraffins) were analyzed in tissue fat collected from 144 volunteers with Caesarean sections as well as in milk fat from days 4 and 20 after birth of the same women living in Austria. In the tissue samples, the composition of the mineral paraffins was largely identical and consisted of an unresolved mixture of iso- and cycloalkanes, in gas chromatographic retention times ranging from n-C(17) to n-C(32) and centered at n-C(23)/C(24). Since the mineral oil products we are exposed to range from much smaller to much higher molecular mass and may contain prominent n-alkanes, the contaminants in the tissue fat must be a residue from selective uptake, elimination by evaporation and metabolic degradation.

Assessment of epoxidized soy bean oil (ESBO) migrating into foods: comparison with ESBO-like epoxy fatty acids in our normal diet.

Epoxidized soy bean oil (ESBO) was found to be toxic for rats, but the toxic constituent is unknown. It became an issue as the migration from the gaskets in the lids for jars into oily foods regularly far exceeds the European legal limit (overall migration limit and specific migration limit derived from the tolerable daily intake (TDI)). In the context of risk management it was of interest to determine the epoxidized fatty acids of ESBO in those foods of our normal diet which are expected to contain the highest concentrations, i.

Compositional GC-FID analysis of the additives to PVC, focusing on the gaskets of lids for glass jars.

A gas chromatographic (FID) method is described which aims at the quantitative compositional analysis of the additives in plasticized PVC, particularly the plastisols used as gaskets for lids of glass jars. An extract of the PVC is analysed directly as well as after transesterification to ethyl esters. Transesterification enables the analysis of epoxidized soya bean and linseed oil (ESBO and ELO) as well as polyadipates.

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils. Part 2: chromatographic optimization for the analysis of migrants from food packaging material.

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oil or fat is a convenient sample preparation technique for the analysis of solutes in lipids or extracts from fatty foods. The injector temperature is selected to vaporize the solutes of interest while minimizing evaporation of the bulk material of the oil. This technique has been in routine use for pesticides for some time.

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils. Part 1: visual experiments on sample deposition on the liner wall.

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils or fats enables the analysis of a wide range of compounds in oils or extracts of fatty food without prior removal of the sample matrix. The oil or fat is deposited onto the wall of the injector liner. The solutes of interest are evaporated, leaving behind the sample matrix.

Epoxidized soy bean oil migrating from the gaskets of lids into food packed in glass jars. Analysis by on-line liquid chromatography-gas chromatography.

The migration of epoxidized soy bean oil (ESBO) from the gasket in the lids of glass jars into foods, particularly those rich in edible oil, often far exceeds the legal limit (60 mg/kg). ESBO was determined through a methyl ester isomer of diepoxy linoleic acid. Transesterification occurred directly in the homogenized food.