Undesirable substances in vegetable oils: anything to declare?

Abstract

The presence of undesirable compounds in vegetable and animal oils and fats may have many different origins. Although the potential toxicity of most of these undesirable compounds is real, poisoning risks are rather limited due to the efficient elimination during oil-refining steps, careful conditioning, choice of efficient packaging and industrial quality control management. However the research of contaminants is part of multiple controls conducted by fat and oil industry to verify the conformity of products placed on the market in relation to regulations such as the European commission regulation EC No. 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for some contaminants in food as lead, some mycotoxins, dioxins, polychlorobiphenyls, benzo[a]pyrene. In the absence of regulation, the detection of contaminants must be addressed in partnership with authorities according to the toxicity of molecules. The controls are not confined to environmental contaminants. They also include compounds that can be formed during the production process of vegetable oils such as esters of 3-monochloropropanediol. This article focuses more particularly on heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mineral oils, phthalates and 3-MCPD or glycidyl esters. Aspects such as methods for analysis, limits fixed by EC regulation and occurrence in vegetable oils are discussed.Keywords: Undesirable compounds / toxicity / methods of analysis / limits / occurrence Résumé -Substances indésirables dans les huiles végétales : rien à déclarer ? La présence de composés indésirables dans les huiles végétales et animales et dans les graisses peut avoir de nombreuses origines différentes. Bien que la toxicité potentielle de la plupart de ces composés indésirables soit réelle, les risques de toxicité s'avèrent néanmoins limités en raison de l'efficacité de leur élimination durant les étapes de raffinage, des précautions apportées au conditionnement, du choix d'un emballage et de la mise en place d'un système d'assurance qualité industriel. Cependant, la recherche de contaminants fait partie des multiples contrôles conduits par l'industrie des huiles et des graisses afin de vérifier la conformité de produits mis sur le marché par rapport aux lois et notamment le règlement de la Commission européenne CE No. 1881/2006 qui fixe les niveaux maximaux de différents contaminants dans l'alimentation comme le plomb, différentes mycotoxines, dioxines, polychlorobiphényles, benzo[a]pyrène. En absence de règlement, la détection de contaminants doit être gérée en partenariat avec des autorités selon la toxicité de molécules. Les contrôles ne sont pas limités aux contaminants environnementaux. Ils incluent aussi les composés qui peuvent être formés pendant le processus de production des huiles végétales comme les esters de 3-monochloropropanediol. Cet article s'intéresse plus particulièrement aux métaux lourds, hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques, huiles minérales, phtalates, esters de 3-MCPD et esters de glycidol. Les aspects tels que méthodes d'analyse, limites fixées par ...

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