POSH are polyolefin oligomeric saturated hydrocarbons, such as oligomers from polyethylene or polypropylene. POSH that have migrated into foods are easily mistaken for mineral oil-saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH). In fact, both POSH and MOSH largely consist of highly isomerised branched and possibly cyclic hydrocarbons, both forming humps of unresolved components in gas chromatography. Chromatograms are reported to show typical elution patterns of POSH and help analysts distinguishing POSH from MOSH as far as possible. Since the structures of the POSH are not fundamentally different from those of the MOSH, it would be prudent to apply the evaluation of the MOSH. However, the migration is frequently beyond that for which safety has been demonstrated. This is shown for a few examples, particularly for powdered formula for babies.

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From inulin which had been heated for 30 min at 200°C, four di-d-fructose dianhydrides (DFDAs) were isolated using flash chromatography and final purification by semipreparative HPLC, followed by identification via NMR spectroscopy.and β-d-Fruf-1,2´:2,1´-β-d-Fruf were identified. The yield of the isolated DFDAs varied depending on the DP of the used inulin. Using the isolated DFDAs as reference compounds, quantification of the disaccharides in commercial bakery products via high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) was possible.