Determining the source of contamination with MOSH and MOAH in the production of finely chopped cooked sausages

Ivana Branković Lazić; Radivoj Petronijević; Saša Janković; Jasna Đinović-Stojanović; Jelena Jovanović; Mirjana Lukić; Mladen Rašeta

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.99

Ivana Branković Lazić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5844-9278
Radivoj Petronijević Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-3824
Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993
Jasna Đinović-Stojanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4602-0835
Jelena Jovanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0301-729X
Mirjana Lukić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7749-864X
Mladen Rašeta Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-6681

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.99

Keywords: MOH, MOSH, MOAH, food contamination, risk assessment, chemical risk

Abstract

Testing for the presence of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) hydrocarbon fractions was carried out on finished products at a food business entity. On this occasion, the presence of the MOSH fraction beyond the limits of the customer’s internal standard (2 mg/kg) was determined in finely chopped cooked sausages at the end of their shelf life; levels were 48.2±9.37 mg/kg in sausage packed in polyamide casing and 8.41±1.64 mg/kg in sausage packed in collagen casing. The meat batter was tested systematically and in a targeted manner, successively in the production steps of the finished product, showing that aromatic hydrocarbon levels were: after passing through the crusher (0.92±0.18 mg/kg), microcutter (1.63±0.32 mg/kg), cutter (1.14±0.22), and filler (1.19±0.23 mg/kg) machines. The raw materials used in the product were also tested (1.00±0.19 mg/kg), as were the casings (28408.82±5525.51 mg/kg polyamide casing and 25947.15±5046.72 mg/kg collagen casing) into which the final product was filled. The obtained test results determined the casings were the source of contamination.