Cumulative risk assessment of phthalates in edible vegetable oil consumed by Chinese residents

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Phthalates have been widely used as plasticizers in various industries and are widely focused on in the international community as a result of their reproductive toxicity. Exposure of Chinese residents to phthalates via edible vegetable oil occurs often. In the present study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to detect the two main phthalates bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in four major edible vegetable oil sources: an edible oil blend, soybean oil, peanut oil and rapeseed oil (a total of 1016 samples), as collected throughout China. Furthermore, cumulative risk assessment was used to estimate the reproductive health risk to Chinese residents caused by the phthalates that come from edible vegetable oils.RESULTS: Both phthalates were detected in four major edible vegetable oil sources. The phthalate with the highest detection rate was DBP (13.48%), followed by DEHP (7.78%). The results of the cumulative risk assessment showed that the hazard indices of these two phthalates in edible vegetable oils were less than 1, except in soybean oil. Nevertheless, the two phthalates had the lowest detection rates in soybean oil, which were 1.94% (DEHP) and 5.16% (DBP). In China, contamination levels of phthalates in the soils where oil crops are cultivated have a great influence on the phthalate concentrations in edible vegetable oils. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that Chinese residents who are consuming soybean oil choose well-known brands and regularly change their brand of consumption. The phthalates in edible vegetable oils pose a relatively small reproductive health risk to Chinese residents.

Critical Review on the Presence of Phthalates in Food and Evidence of Their Biological Impact

“…The phthalate with the highest detection rate was DBP (13.48%), followed by DEHP (7.78%). Nevertheless, the two phthalates had the lowest detection rates in soybean oil, which were 1.94% (DEHP) and 5.16% (DBP) [ 229 ].…”

Comprehensive Insight from Phthalates Occurrence: From Health Outcomes to Emerging Analytical Approaches

“…Table 2 summarizes the extraction techniques adopted in the last three years to analyze PAEs in environmental and food matrices. It is possible to observe that the most common extraction techniques used to extract phthalates from environmental and food samples are LLE [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 71 , 74 , 76 , 77 , 89 , 91 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 99 , 104 , 106 , 109 , 110 , 112 ], SPME [ 60 , 69 , 81 , 82 , 92 , 93 , 115 ], QuEChERS-dSPE [ 79 , 88 , 102 ], SPE [ 68 , 75 ], and soxhlet [ 100 , 101 , 114 ].…”

A Bienzymatic Cascade for the Complete Hydrolysis of Phthalic Acid Esters

“…[1,2] Therefore, PAEs can be detected in air, [3,4] soil, [5,6] drinking water [7,8] and food products. [9,10] Various studies showed that PAEs exhibit toxic effects on the reproductive system, neuroendocrine system, and immune system. [11][12][13][14] Therefore, intensive research efforts are dedicated to the efficient degradation of these persistent organic pollutants in the environment.…”

“…From these products, PAEs constantly leach out into the environment [1,2] . Therefore, PAEs can be detected in air, [3,4] soil, [5,6] drinking water [7,8] and food products [9,10] . Various studies showed that PAEs exhibit toxic effects on the reproductive system, neuroendocrine system, and immune system [11–14] .…”