E905g - Mineral oil medium and low viscosity class III
What it is and how it is used
Mineral oils of medium and low viscosity are highly refined liquid petroleum hydrocarbons. Sub-codes such as E 905g come from international listings that split the mineral hydrocarbons into viscosity and refinement classes; class III denotes one such band.
Their food-related uses are surface ones — release agents on baking tins and conveyor belts, dust suppressants on grain, and coatings on some confectionery — rather than uses inside a recipe.
Foods commonly containing it
Not applicable in Great Britain under this code. Where mineral oils are used in food manufacture here, it is generally as a processing aid or release agent under separate rules, not as an E-numbered additive.
Safety summary
E 905g is not in the FSA Register of Food Additive Authorisations, and the assimilated specifications regulation contains no entry for it. The only substance specified under E 905 in Great Britain is microcrystalline wax.
We have not quoted an ADI, because no GB or EFSA figure applies to this code.
Worth separating from a related and genuine food safety topic: mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH) that migrate into food from printing inks, recycled cardboard packaging and lubricants are a live contamination issue that EFSA and the FSA have both examined. That is a contaminant question, and it is not the same thing as an authorised additive use.
Known concerns
The relevant public health question about mineral oils in food is contamination (MOSH/MOAH migration from packaging and lubricants), not additive use. It is regulated as a contaminant, not through the additives list.