Abstract: Hexane is still today the reference solvent for oil, proteins and natural extracts production in food and feed. Each year in the world, about 300 000 T of hexane enters the human food chain as residues in the extraction products. Hexane use started before World War II and before the food safety regulation entered in force in the sixties. Hexane producers were therefore never asked to submit a food safety dossier which would review the cumulative hexane residues. EcoXtract® submitted in Europe, the first food regulatory dossier for the approval of a substitute to hexane, the 2-methyloxolane and as such simulated for the first time the exposure of the general population which derives from the current hexane maximum residue limit in food. The presentation will explain the current regulatory approval process in Europe and in the US and will answer the safety question.
