Abstract
Plastic-coated paper (PCP) is commonly used as a takeaway food container in Thailand. This study aimed to investigate the phthalate content in PCP and to evaluate the health risk of dietary exposure to phthalates. Determination of phthalates, namely, of benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), was carried out using a simple total immersion test followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Consumption data of 430 students in a university were collected by a questionnaire for health risk assessment. The results showed that DEHP was the most abundant compound detected in the PCP samples, followed by DBP and BBP, respectively. The hazard indexes (<1) showed that the health risk to all subjects was acceptable, but monitoring of phthalates in PCP on market shelves should be performed regularly to protect consumers’ health.
Highlights
Phthalates are among the most commonly found organic contaminants in food contact materials (FCM)
The present study showed that dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were detected in all dPCPs
DEHP was the dominant compound with the highest amount of 0.0052 mg/dm2
Summary
Phthalates are among the most commonly found organic contaminants in food contact materials (FCM). They are used as plasticizers in many plastics applications, including packaging and other FCM (Barros et al, 2011; Giuliani et al, 2020). In Thailand, several kinds of papers are used as food containers, including plastic-coated paper (PCP), which is commonly used as takeaway food containers (Figure 1). Phthalates can migrate from the packaging to the food over time. Their migration under various conditions has been extensively documented in many studies (Alp & Yerlikaya, 2019; Bhunia et al, 2013; Fang et al, 2017; Galmán Graíño et al, 2018). The migration of plastic components into foodstuffs can lead to consumer exposure and possible health effects
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