Infants Given Formula Most at Risk of Exposure to Petroleum-Derived MOH Chemicals, EFSA Concludes
To inform the European Commission’s (EC’s) decision on whether to establish maximum levels for mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in certain foods, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published an update of its risk assessment on dietary exposure to the chemicals. MOH are substances derived from crude oil, coal, gas, and biomass that can enter food through environmental contamination, as additives, or from food contact materials.
EFSA’s Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) published its original scientific opinion on MOH in 2012, at which point, EC organized MOH monitoring in food and all food contact surfaces to fill analytical data gaps. In 2020, EC mandated EFSA to update the scientific opinion on the hazard/risk characterization of MOH based on recent toxicity and occurrence data.