Food contamination by hydrocarbons from lubricating oils and release agents: determination by coupled LC-GC.

We have found that many foods are contaminated with mineral oil products used as lubricating oils/greases or as release agents. The mineral oil base of such products usually consists of branched alkanes ranging between C17 and C35. It forms a broad 'hump' of unresolved compounds in the gas chromatogram. Examples of such products are described; contamination is shown for a sample of bread, bonbon, and chocolate, respectively. The results suggest that contamination of foodstuffs with mineral oils does not always receive the required attention. However, there is also a lack of guidelines.