Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of aniline in food oils associated with the Spanish toxic oil syndrome

In 1981, a new disease, known today as the toxic oil syndrome (TOS), descended upon the people of Spain. Subsequent investigations implicated food oils containing rapeseed oil denatured with aniline. The authors report here a newly developed method for determining aniline in these oils and the results of these analyses. The studies provide evidence that aniline is not, itself, the toxic agent in the oil. Nevertheless, aniline may be a useful indicator of the presence of the TOS agent.