Front Office Assessment mineral oils in cheese biscuits

On 16 December 2016 a company reported high concentrations of mineral oils (‘mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons’ (MOSH) and ‘mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons’ (MOAH)) in cheese biscuits to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority [Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit] (NVWA). Three days later, on 19 December 2016, the Office for Risk Assessment and Research [Bureau Risicobeoordeling en Onderzoeksprogrammering] of the NVWA (NVWA-BuRO) asked the Front Office to answer the following questions:

1. Do the (increased) values of mineral oils in the cheese biscuits examined create a health risk when these products are eaten? (children/adults).

2. Can an indication be given regarding how many of these cheese biscuits, or how many grams of these cheese biscuits, provide a basis for expecting a health risk?

Because the analytical results were not clear, the NVWA asked the company about the analytical results and the recipe of the cheese biscuits. These additional details were supplied to the Front Office in March.