Mineral oil components can enter foods in most different ways, here a high migration potential has been identified. Possible contamination sources are packaging materials, recycling products and printing inks contained therein, and also lubricants in production machinery and many other ways.
From the chemical point of view, mineral oils are complex mixtures which mainly consist of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH = Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons) and mostly of alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH = Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons).
How dangerous are MOAH and MOSH?
According to the current scientific state, there is no sufficient toxicological evidence which confirms human health hazard from saturated mineral oil fractions (MOSH). On the contrary, MOAH are suspected to have a carcinogenic effect, for that reason their content in food products shall be reduced as far as possible according to the principle ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable).
Until now, neither specific legal regulations nor maximum levels for mineral oil components in foods were available.
France specified the regulations for MOSH and MOAH in printing inks
On May 3rd, 2022 the French Ministry of Environment concretized the existing laws and regulations. The goal of the ban is to take the mineral oils, which interfere with the recycling circles or limit the use of recycled products due to their potential risks for the human health, step by step from the market.
For the substances MOSH and MOAH, which are affected by the use ban, a staggered ban will be applied. Until Dec. 31st, 2024, the use of the mentioned substances is prohibited if the concentration of aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH) in the printing ink is more than 1%. As of January 1st, 2025, the ban on use applies if the concentration of both substances is more than 0.1% or, in the case of MOAH, exceeds a value of 1 ppm (1mg/kg).
Since goods produced in Germany are often sold throughout Europe, this decree is particularly relevant for manufacturing companies, which is why buyers increasingly attach great importance to sustainability and the maximum possible reduction of pollutants in labeling products. When it comes to printing inks for labels, MOSH- and MOAH-free products are often in demand. Robos-labels uses printing inks that do not contain mineral oil compounds. Conformity to this requirement can be guaranteed and confirmed for the respective individual case by the Quality Management of robos-labels.
Do you have any questions?
Christos Emmanuil, Head of Quality Management, will be glad to advise you. Christos.emmanuil@robos-labels.com, phone +49 7154 8225-65.
You can learn more about MOSH and MOAH in our glossary of technical terms.
Sources:
Sources for the first section:
1 Final report on the scientific study “Extent of migration of undesirable substances from packaging materials made of waste paper in food”. Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. 2012
2 Birgit Geueke. Dossier – Mineral oil Hydrocarbons. Food Packaging Forum, June 2017, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.820984
Sources for the second section:
³Dr. Sieglinde Stähle, Federation for Food Law and Food Science e.V.; Rüdiger Helling, Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, Department 22 Food and Feed Safety, Commodities, Cosmetics. Benchmark levels for mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in foods. As of April 2019
https://www.lebensmittelverband.de/de/aktuell/20190502-veroeffentlichung-moh-orientierungswerte
Source for the third section:
https://www.institut-kirchhoff.de/en/newsroom/news-en/news-detail-view/frankreich-spezifiziert-vorgaben-fuer-mosh-und-moah-in-druckfarben//
