First binding MOAH limits in food — laboratories have a year to get the method ready
On 13 May 2026 the Member States approved draft maximum levels for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons. Publication is expected late this year, application from 2027.
- MOAH have so far been covered by recommendations and guidance. Now they enter Regulation 2023/915 as figures for the first time — numbers you can point to in a dispute.
- The thresholds follow the fat content: 0.5 mg/kg up to 4%, 1.0 mg/kg between 4 and 50%, 2.0 mg/kg above 50%.
- Coconut oil gets a descending path: 6.0 mg/kg from 2027, 4.0 mg/kg from 2028 and 2.0 mg/kg from 2030 — production is given time to change the process.
- What is determined is the sum of MOAH in the n-C10 to n-C50 range. Separating the aromatic fraction from the saturated MOSH is part of the method, not an add-on.
- The workhorse is liquid chromatography coupled to gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (LC-GC-FID); confirming the tri- and polyaromatic fraction calls for two-dimensional GC×GC with mass spectrometry.
- The bottleneck will be limits of quantification in difficult matrices — spices, supplements, cocoa — and background from plastics and lubricants inside the laboratory itself.
Source: Eurofins