Mineral oil in food packaging

Pasta, rice, cornflakes and other foods are often contaminated with mineral oil residue that is hazardous to health. The consumer organization Foodwatch therefore calls for better protection against these substances, most of which come from paper food packaging.

Far too much mineral oil in food, says the consumer organization "Foodwatch". Picture: rcfotostock - fotolia

Foodwatch had commissioned extensive laboratory analyzes. Of the total of 120 examined products from Germany, France and the Netherlands, 43% contained so-called aromatic mineral oils, which are suspected of being carcinogenic and mutagenic.

In Germany, every fifth food tested (9 out of 42 products) was contaminated with aromatic mineral oils. One of the main sources of contamination is waste paper packaging: it contains mineral oils from printing inks and a number of other hazardous substances such as plasticizers and solvents that can be converted to food.

E-mail campaign launched to EU Health Commissioner
Foodwatch therefore called on the European Commission to impose so-called "functional barriers" on all food packaging made of paper, as well as to enact limit values ​​for mineral oils in foodstuffs for the first time. Because there are already suitable materials today, e.g. for inner bags or coatings that separate waste paper and product so that hazardous chemicals can not pass on to food.

With an e-mail campaign launched at www.mineraloel-aktion.foodwatch.de, consumers can ask EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis to take action. (Pm)