Use of a low-cost, lab-made Y-interface for liquid-gas chromatography coupling for the analysis of mineral oils in food samples

Consumers are daily exposed to a range of mineral oil hydrocarbons via food consumption. Major sources of MOH in food are packaging and additives, processing aids, and lubricants. In 2019, an EU guidance was released covering specific directions for sampling and analysis of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in food and food contact materials within the frame of Recommendation (EU) 2017/84 for the monitoring of mineral oils. The parameters required by the guide are increasingly stringent, and coping with this type of analysis is now very challenging. It is within such a context that the present research is confined, inasmuch that it is focused on the construction of a low-cost, lab-made Y-interface for liquid-gas chromatography coupling used for the determination of MOSH and MOAH in foodstuffs. The response ratios of alkanes comprised between C10 and C50 were measured and were comprised between 0.9 and 1.1, with a maximum coefficient of variation of 4% (n = 5). Intermediate precision was evaluated for the fat/oil category during a period of 48 days obtaining a value of 10%. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of both MOSH and MOAH were performed in a single run and in a fully-automated manner. Seventeen different foods were analyzed in order to cover the categories reported in the EU guide. Saturated hydrocarbon contamination was detected only in a few samples (in the range 1–153 ppm); MOAH contamination was found only in one sample (sunflower oil: 15 ppm).