Hexane, this petroleum derivative that we eat in all sauces without even knowing it

<img alt="Hexane, this petroleum derivative that we eat in all sauces without even knowing it” class=”doc-img-responsive-100 rounded-lg” src=”https://resize.prod.docfr.doc-media.fr/rcrop/480,280,center-middle/ext/eac4ff34/content/2024/9/25/shutterstock-2455118395.jpg” width=”650″ height=”380″/>

According to a scientific source revealed by Libération, residues of solvent used to make oil, margarine or infant milk are found in our food products, without even appearing on the label. Is a new food scandal looming?

You may have never heard of it, and yet hexane, a hydrocarbon solvent, is found everywhere around us. Worse, we would also regularly swallow it with our meals. A fact which could possibly impact our health, revealed yesterday by our colleagues at Liberation.

A dangerous derivative product?

The substance makes it possible, in particular, to extract vegetable oil from crushed rapeseed, soybean or sunflower seeds. According to the daily newspaper, hexane is used as “technological aid” in the manufacture of certain margarines, infant milks, cocoa butters or animal foods. And would therefore be found on our everyday plates, and in our stomachs.

Behind its formula, C6H14, hexane hides a mixture of hydrocarbons derived from petroleum which can nevertheless present risks. According to the National Institute for Research and Security (INRS), l’hexane “may be fatal if swallowed and enters airways”, “causes skin irritation”, “can cause somnolence or dizziness” and is “likely to damage fertility”.

Comments that we find from Dr Pierre Souvet, president of Action Santé Environnement France, contacted by Doctissimo “To date, we have no studies on humans, only on animals. But there are fertility problems and embryotoxic consequences in rats, which also affect the placenta and breast milk. he describes.

Limits that are quite difficult to read

But is there really hexane on our plates? Libération explains that in theory no, because hexane, a “processing aid” authorized in the European Union by the 2009 directive on food solvents, is not an “ingredient”. It therefore does not have to appear on the labels.

That said, in practice, there is a good chance that you will absorb residues frequently. According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), its “use may result in the unintentional, but technically unavoidable, presence of residues of this substance or its derivatives in the finished product.

A presence limited to 1 mg/kg in fat, oil or cocoa butter, and up to 30 mg/kg also exists in defatted soy products, according to the European directive. But is it enough?

NO to diets, YES to WW!

A substance to study better, quickly

The matter seems to have taken a new turn in recent months. EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, addresses this question in the face of insufficient data on rats dating from the 1990s: “An exposure assessment based on regulatory limits has shown that exposure of infants, toddlers and other children may be higher than anticipated.”she noted on September 13.“Since hexane is absorbed in humans, additional toxicity studies exploring more parameters may be necessary” she concludes, asking for new estimates.

On the industrial side, however, we do not seem to be panicking. “If there are residues, they are in strict compliance with the framework set by the European Commission”says Nathalie Lecocq, president of Fediol, which represents the European vegetable oil and protein flour industry on a daily basis.

An attitude that Dr Souvet deplores: “This story is a bit like the packaging boxes that contained hydrocarbons, or the harmful plastics in canteens. Carrying out large-scale studies over years to find out the effects on men or children is complicated and dangerous. But we can also start from the principle that we can “do it differently”. If we suspect that food contains solvents harmful to health, even without human studies, seeking to do otherwise is coherent.”