Offline Solid-Phase Extraction and Separation of Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Edible Oils, and Analysis via GC with a Flame Ionization Detector

A method was developed for the determination of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in edible oils, achieving similar limits of quantification than those obtained by online extraction methodologies, i.e., 0.5 mg/kg. The isolation of MOSH and MOAH was performed in a silver nitrated silica gel stationary phase prior to their analysis by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). To improve the sensitivity, the simulated on-column injection method, using a suitable liner, was optimized. The method was validated at 0.5, 10.0 and 17.9 mg/kg, and recoveries ranged from 80 to 110%. Intra and inter-day precision were evaluated at the same levels, and relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower than 20%. The method was applied to a total of 27 samples of different types of oil previously analyzed in an accredited laboratory, detecting MOSH up to 79.2 mg/kg and MOAH up to 22.4 mg/kg.

Automated summary

A method has been developed for the determination of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in edible oils, achieving similar quantification limits to online extraction methods. The method involves isolation of MOSH and MOAH in a silver nitrated silica gel stationary phase prior to analysis by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The method was validated and applied to a total of 27 samples of different types of oil, detecting MOSH up to 79.2 mg/kg and MOAH up to 22.4 mg/kg.