the european food safety authority efsa has published a scientific opinion dealing with the presence of mineral oil hydrocarbons moh in food and foods packed in recycled paperthe opinion assesses the impact of human exposure through the diet to the diverse group of mixtures known as mineral oil hydrocarbons. it covers more than just packaging.&lsquodry foods&rsquoexperts from the efsa identified two main types of moh relevant for food safety saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. they carried out an assessment of consumer exposure to moh.from the available data, low levels of saturated moh were present in all the food groups included with some high levels found in &lsquobread and rolls&rsquo and &lsquograins for human consumption&rsquo due to their use, respectively, as releasenonsticking agents and spraying agents used to make grains shiny.the presence of both saturated and aromatic moh though data are more limited for the latter in dry foods including &lsquopudding&rsquo dessert mixes and noodles may be partially attributed to the use of recycled papercardboard packaging. exposure to saturated moh through the diet was higher among younger consumers than for adults and the elderly.according to the efsa, a significant source of dietary exposure to moh may be contamination of food by the use of recycled paperboard as packaging material.it can be effectively prevented by the inclusion of functional barriers into the packaging assembly, according to the organisation.other measures may include segregation of recovery fibre sources intended for recycling and the increasing of the recyclability of food packages by avoiding the use of materials and substances with moh in the production of food packages.mohaccording to the efsa, the potential human health impact of moh varies widely socalled &lsquoaromatic&rsquo moh may act as genotoxic carcinogens that is they may damage dna, the genetic material of cells, as well as cause cancer, while some &lsquosaturated&rsquo moh can accumulate in human tissue and may cause adverse effects in the liver.the opinion identifies some potential concerns in relation to exposure to moh through food.however, efsa&rsquos experts stress there are several uncertainties regarding the chemical composition of moh mixtures to which humans are exposed and also the wide range of sources of human exposure.furthermore, on the basis of new information on the lack of toxicological relevance for humans of previous animal studies, the temporary acceptable daily intakes adis of some &lsquosaturated&rsquo moh present in specific food products warrant revision.&lsquouncertainty &lsquospeaking to pn about the report, cpi director general david workman said &ldquothroughout the efsa report the language used suggests a huge level of uncertainty with the findings and it is significant that it claims that &lsquothe presence of both saturated and aromatic moh in dry foods&hellip&hellip may be partially attributable to the use of recycled papercardboard&rsquo.&ldquothere is no suggestion &ndash as far as i can see &ndash that the practice of using recycled fibres in packaging should be changed in any way.&ldquothis report covers a number of areas &ndash not just packaging. the uk&rsquos food standards agency report which did only cover packaging suggested that there was insufficient evidence to cause concern and that consumers should continue with their current purchasing practices.&ldquothe paper packaging industry has been aware of this issue for some time and as a precautionary measure has implemented standards for food contact materials.&rdquo 
