Towards a regulatory method using multidimensional techniques. The mineral oil case

The presence of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food was first highlighted by Biedermann and co-workers in 1989 (Biedermann et al, 1989), but the main discussion started 20 years later when the same authors related the presence of high amount of MOH to the use of recycled fibers for food contact material (Biedermann et al., 2009). The analysis of such a contaminant in food is a challenging task, mainly due to the high complexity of the matrices and the high affinity with the lipid fraction and many of its components. Due to this challenge the use of powerful confirmatory techniques is required. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2012) confirmed the use of on-line LC-GC/FID as the most effective method for the analysis of MOH, but the presence of false positive and the doubts on the nature of the chromatographic hump originated with this analysis remain. Therefore, this analysis needs to be supported by a most powerful technique for confirmatory purposes. Although, some authors look toward mass spectrometry, GC×GC-MS/FID seems to be the most promising solution, as also stress by the EFSA. However, additional proof of concepts need to be provided to convince the most sceptics. This contribution works on this direction to provide additional and conclusive support to confirm the valid use of GC×GC as a EU regulated confirmatory method.