MOSH/MOAH in plant based meat substitute (GCxGC-FID, ring systems)

There is an on-going discussion about the toxicity of 1-2 ring MOAH compared to 3-7 ring MOAH.

EFSA updated the risk assessment of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food in September 2023. Several limitations were mentioned, like the lack of sufficient data for MOAH with 3- or more aromatic rings and their concentrations in food. And consequently, the recommendation was to "collect more data on composition by aromatic ring number, mainly levels of 3- or more ring MOAH present in food".

The analysis by GCxGC-FID is applied for quantification of MOAH separately for the different ring systems. However, there is not standardised method available for quantification of different ring systems of MOAH by these methods.

P2608-MRT is focused on quantification of MDAF (mono- and diaromatic fraction) and TPAF (tri- and polyaromatic fraction) by GCxGC-FID. Other techniques might not be suitable for this method ring test, please check carefully. 

In addition to the quantification of MDAF and TPAF by GCxGC-FID, the labs are invited to report results related to total MOSH and total MOAH, quantified by LC-GC-FID for an additional evaluation.