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MOSH/MOAH contamination facts
What you need to know about the risks, regulation and testing of food and packaging for these dangerous chemicals
Welcome back to Food Insights, our informative monthly blog that helps you understand our wide range of testing services that go beyond direct food quality and safety testing.
Each month, Food Insights takes you inside the laboratory and out to the field to reveal the surprising breadth of our services and how they impact our clients and public health and safety. In this inaugural blog series, we provide an overview of each service area and delve into the work that service’s team is doing to support our clients in helping improve life.
What in the world is “MOSH/MOAH”?
For our second service overview, we’re exposing you to some dangerous chemicals – or rather, information about them that you need to know. MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons) are two chemicals derived from petroleum that can contaminate food. These chemicals pose serious potential health risks: MOAH are considered a potential carcinogen, while MOSH can accumulate in human tissue. To help mitigate these risks, regulatory bodies around the world have identified MOSH/MOAH orientation values (ie benchmark levels) for food and other products – and ALS has the expertise to offer precision testing for these potentially harmful substances.
Public awareness of the dangers of MOSH/MOAH is already high, as is market demand for products that have been tested to not exceed these orientation values. In fact, if MOSH/MOAH values exceed these limits, shipments may be rejected at national borders or not accepted by clients or retailers. With ALS’ sophisticated MOSH/MOAH analysis techniques, we can provide reliable and fast service to clients for their products from farm to fork.
But our MOSH/MOAH testing services aren’t just about direct testing of food, as you’ve probably gathered from their inclusion in our beyond-food blog series: a major contamination danger comes from packaging:
MOSH/MOAH from recycled cardboard or jute bags, often from the inks used to print on the packaging, can lead to contamination by migration.
MOSH & MOAH analysis by LC-GC-FID: What food and packaging companies need to know
Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) have become a major analytical and regulatory issue for the food and packaging industries. The two key groups – MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons) – can enter the food chain through raw materials, processing, storage and packaging.
As one of the largest global markets for food product imports, Europe is at the forefront of scientific research and food safety. Thus, Europe’s current advancement toward stricter MOSH/MOAH oversight and control reveals the increasing importance of reliable MOSH/MOAH analysis as part of robust food-safety and packaging strategies.
More details about MOSH and MOAH toxicity
MOSH and MOAH are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons that can originate from petroleum-based materials used in various industrial processes.
As noted in our introduction, MOSH can accumulate in organs and tissues. According to EFSA’s current assessment of available evidence, dietary exposure to MOSH does not currently raise a health concern, but uncertainties remain regarding long-term accumulation. MOSH testing is important for helping better understand its potential effects.
MOAH are of greater toxicological concern. Certain MOAH, particularly those containing three or more aromatic rings, may be genotoxic and carcinogenic. EFSA therefore concluded that a health concern cannot be excluded for dietary exposure to MOAH.
This distinction between MOSH and MOAH is increasingly important for European risk management.
Laboratory technology matters for MOSH/MOAH analysis
Laboratory technology matters for MOSH/MOAH analysis ALS uses the established analytical approach for MOSH/MOAH testing: liquid chromatography coupled with gas chromatography and flame ionisation detection (LC-GC-FID).
In this approach, liquid chromatography first isolates the mineral-oil fraction before gas chromatography separates the hydrocarbons according to volatility. FID then provides quantitative information for the MOSH and MOAH fractions.
Unlike conventional targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, LC-GC-FID does not normally identify individual hydrocarbons. Instead, MOSH and MOAH are determined as complex fractions, typically appearing as broad chromatographic “humps.”
This makes method performance, sample preparation and interpretation critical. A high-level of expertise in this type of analysis is vital.
Using LC-GC-FID, certain natural compounds can interfere with MOAH determination. In such cases, GC×GC can provide valuable confirmatory information. European guidance specifically recognises the need for additional techniques where naturally occurring substances interfere with MOAH analysis. ALS can coordinate this testing to provide more detailed information for our clients.
MOSH/MOAH in food
Mineral oil hydrocarbons can enter food at many stages of the supply chain.
Potential sources include:
* processing equipment and lubricants
* processing aids
* storage and transport
* environmental contamination
* printing inks
* recycled paper and board
* food-contact materials.
Close attention is often given to cereals, edible oils and fats, cocoa, coffee, tea, spices, nuts and other processed foods.
Infant food is a particularly important area of concern. The EU Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials has developed analytical procedures specifically addressing MOSH/MOAH in infant formula.
Packaging: a critical part of the equation
Recycled paper and board, printing inks, adhesives and other packaging components can contribute to mineral-oil contamination. Migration into food can occur during storage, depending on the packaging structure and the presence of suitable functional barriers.
For this reason, investigating a high MOSH/MOAH result should not stop with the food itself.
A more effective approach is to examine the entire system:
Food → packaging → raw materials → processing → storage → transport
The EU monitoring framework explicitly covers both food and materials intended to have contact with food.
The EU regulatory landscape is changing
The European approach to MOSH/MOAH has developed from monitoring towards increasingly specific regulatory controls.
Commission Recommendation (EU) 2017/84 established an EU monitoring framework for mineral oil hydrocarbons in food and food-contact materials.
May 2026 saw a major new regulatory development, when EU Member States voted in favour of introducing maximum levels for MOAH in food through an amendment to Regulation (EU) 2023/915.
As of September 2026, the European Commission indicates that the measure is still subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council, with adoption targeted for October 2026. It is therefore important to understand that these maximum levels are not already applicable EU law until the formal adoption process is complete.
Packaging regulation is evolving too
Another important development in the EU is the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
The PPWR entered into force in February 2025 and has been applicable since 12 August 2026. It establishes a harmonised EU framework for packaging, addressing areas such as recyclability, reuse, waste prevention and chemical safety.
Although the PPWR is not a MOSH/MOAH regulation, it reinforces the broader trend towards greater chemical control of food packaging. We can thus anticipate that the PPWR may be expanded to cover MOSH/MOAH in the future or that new regulations in Europe may address these tests.
For companies, this means that packaging design, recycled materials, chemical safety and migration increasingly need to be considered together.
From laboratory testing to contamination control.
As regulatory requirements become more stringent, MOSH/MOAH analysis should increasingly become part of a preventive quality strategy rather than a one-off test.
A robust MOSH/MOAH testing program can include:
- Raw-material screening
- Packaging assessment
- Process and lubricant review
- Routine LC-GC-FID testing
- GC×GC confirmation where necessary
- Supplier monitoring
- Trend analysis over time.
A single analytical result can identify a problem. Repeated testing and trend analysis can help identify its source.
The most effective MOSH/MOAH testing strategy is therefore comprehensive:
Raw materials + processing + packaging + migration + analytical quality + regulatory compliance.
For food manufacturers, packaging producers and laboratories, the ability to generate reliable and defensible MOSH/MOAH data will become increasingly important as requirements continue to evolve.
Conclusion
MOSH/MOAH analysis is moving from a specialist analytical topic towards a mainstream element of European food and packaging compliance – impacting companies doing business in Europe and indicating likely continued global expansion of MOSH/MOAH regulation
LC-GC-FID remains a key method for routine determination, but reliable results depend on appropriate sample preparation, method performance and careful interpretation. Where matrix interferences occur, additional techniques such as GC×GC may be required.
With the EU moving towards formal MOAH maximum levels and the PPWR strengthening the wider chemical-safety framework for packaging, companies should increasingly view MOSH/MOAH as a supply-chain issue rather than simply a laboratory parameter.
ALS provides state-of-the-art analytical techniques as well as comprehensive expert knowledge to help your company navigate the complexity of testing demands, regulatory challenges and result interpretation.
ALS is your comprehensive MOSH/MOAH testing partner
Along with our use of the latest analytical technologies for MOSH/MOAH testing, ALS offers:
- Industry-leading expertise in EU regulation and consultation
- Participation in proficiency testing
- Accredited methods
- Dedicated lab to MOSH/MOAH testing
- Global centre of excellence in Altenberge.
Our ability to receive pre-shipment samples in every country in which we operate helps us provide fast and reliable pre-shipment testing, enabling clients to identify, isolate and stop shipment of contaminated products, helping them save time and cost.
If you’d like to learn more about our MOSH/MOAH testing services, access the recording of our recent webinar hosted by our MOSH/MOAH experts.