Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry used to protect sharks

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is being used to help identify cosmetics that contain squalene and squalane derived from shark oil.

The substances are commonly used in vaccines and cosmetics, but have become subject to shark-fishing limits in the deep north-east Atlantic since 2006.

An alternative is to use olive oil to derive the two substances - something major cosmetics brands claim to have done since 2008.

Now researchers at the IASMA Research and Innovation Centre Fondazione Edmund Mach in San Michele all'Adige, Italy, have applied gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and discovered a means of testing where squalene and squalane came from.

"Our method will protect both cosmetic firms and consumers from commercial fraud and will make it possible to promote the production of squalene from olive oil," says researcher Federica Camin.

The technique helps to counter the fact that squalane and squalene are cheaper and faster to produce from shark oil - leading to the temptation for some producers to flout the limits on fishing.

IASMA also works to promote the uptake of land-based economies, particularly those present in the Trentino region, which include the growth of olives for olive oil and other products.