Monitoring Specific Migration of Phthalates from Food Contact Materials and Objects

What are phthalates?

Phthalates are a group of compounds commonly used as plasticizers to increase the flexibility and durability of plastics. They are present in numerous everyday products, including food, air and the environment. However, phthalates are endocrine disruptors and consequently harmful to human health. They can be found in products that come into contact with plastics during manufacturing, packaging, or delivery. Despite their short half-life in tissues, chronic exposure to phthalates adversely affects the endocrine system and the functioning of multiple organs, leading to negative long-term effects on pregnancy outcomes, growth and development in children and the reproductive system in young children and adolescents. Due to their widespread use and potential health risks, the determination of phthalates is an important parameter in monitoring the safety of items that come into contact with food. The most commonly analyzed phthalates include Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), Di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP), Diisononyl phthalate (DiNP), and Diisodecyl phthalate (DiDP). Additionally, it's important to mention other present phthalates such as Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and Diethyl phthalate (DEP), which can also affect health.

What is specific migration?

Specific migration refers to the migration of an individual substance from materials or objects into food. Testing for specific migration is conducted using model solutions to simulate various types of food during testing. These solutions are defined to act as the fatty, aqueous, acidic, and alcoholic characteristics of food. Specific migration tests are performed under the most extreme foreseeable conditions that may occur during actual use, including shelf life and temperature when in contact with food.

Migration of phthalates from packaging

The presence of phthalates in food, resulting from migration from packaging, can significantly vary depending on the duration of food storage in such packaging. Longer storage can lead to greater migration of phthalates. This is particularly pronounced in packaging that contains a high concentration of phthalate plasticizers, such as certain types of plastic packaging made from PVC.

Factors such as temperature, food composition, and type of packaging play a key role in the rate and extent of migration. Phthalates are lipophilic compounds; therefore, fatty foods like cheese and meat can promote greater migration of phthalates as lipids in the food can act as solvents. Higher temperatures, such as those occurring during summer months or when food is stored near heat sources, can accelerate phthalate migration.

A prerequisite for successful phthalate analysis is careful sample preparation, after which samples are analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This technique allows for highly selective and sensitive determination of phthalates.

Legislative framework in phthalate analysis

Since there is no regulation determining the maximum allowable concentrations of phthalates in food, their presence is regulated through legislation that monitors materials coming into contact with food under Regulation 10/2011 of January 14, 2011, concerning plastic materials and items intended to come into contact with food. Regulation 10/2011 also defines limits for the specific migration of substances that can be used as alternatives to phthalates, which have a similar or identical effect in the technology for producing plastic materials, such as adipates, citrate esters, sebacates, and epoxidized soybean oil.

Phthalates are most frequently mentioned as contaminants from plastic materials in contact with food, but one should not overlook the limitations outlined in the Regulation on the safety of materials and objects intended to come into direct contact with food (NN 125/2009), where specific requirements for paper and cardboard that come into direct contact with food and are produced from recycling should be observed.

Image 1. Phtalates in cosmetics

Analysis of phthalates at Sample Control

Sample Control d.o.o., a leading testing laboratory in Croatia, has accredited methods for the analysis of phthalates in materials that come into contact with food, phthalate analysis in toys according to Regulation 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals (REACH), and the establishment of the European Chemicals Agency, as well as phthalate analysis in cosmetic products according to Regulation 1223/2009, which prohibits the presence of phthalates in cosmetic products.