Transfer of eight phthalates through the milk chain — A case study

Abstract

This survey determined the levels of eight phthalates - i.e. dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BzBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) - in several Belgian milk and dairy products. Samples were obtained from various farms, a dairy factory and from different shops in order to investigate phthalate contamination "from farm to fork". At several stages in the milk chain, product contamination with phthalates - mostly DiBP, DnBP, BzBP and DEHP - was observed. At farm level, the mechanical milking process and the intake of phthalate containing feed by the cattle were found to be possible contamination sources. At industry and retail level, contact materials including packaging materials were additional contamination sources for phthalates in milk and dairy products.

Phthalate esters contamination in soils and vegetables of plastic film greenhouses of suburb Nanjing, China and the potential human health risk

“…Except for daily human gastrointestinal digestion, milking process, the intake of phthalate containing feed by the cattle and contact pack major aging materials of milks were mainly contamination sources for phthalates in milk and dairy products (Cheng et al 2013;Fierens et al 2013). It has been recorded that the indoor phthalates mainly accumulated in gaseous form in the air household, in which more plastic toys and furnishings were displayed; DEHP posed the greatest health risk to children aged 1∼2, and the carcinogenic risk of DEHP was evaluated to be 39 times higher than the limit set by the USEPA (Pei et al 2013).…”

Quantification of Six Phthalates and One Adipate in Luxembourgish Beer Using HS-SPME-GC/MS

“…A lot of research (Suciu et al 2013;Erythropel et al 2014;Mousavi Khaneghah et al 2014) has focussed on the food contact materials with regard to phthalate contamination as it has long been thought of as being the main source of contamination. Recent research, however, has shown that the unprocessed starting ingredients and the food processing can be equally important if not more important (Fierens et al 2012b(Fierens et al , 2013Van Holderbeke et al 2014).…”

Phthalate plasticizers covalently linked to PVC via copper-free or copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloadditions

“…The resulting yellow oil (0.2221 g) was purified by silica gel column chromatography using 90:10 hexanes/ethyl acetate as eluent, to give the title compound as a pale yellow oil (12.12 g, 75.17% yield). Preparation of bis(2-ethylhexyl) 4-((prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)methyl)phthalate (14). To a stirred solution of bis(2-ethylhexyl) 4-(bromomethyl)phthalate 16 (3.084 g, 6.391 mmol) and propargyl alcohol (0.4297 g, 7.669 mmol) in 60 mL of dry tetrahydrofuran was added sodium hydride (0.6282 g, 26.18 mmol, 60% suspension in mineral oil) in portions over 10 minutes at 0 °C.…”

“…Other common small molecule plasticizers include terphthalates, 1,2-cyclohexane-dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (Hexamoll® DINCH®), epoxidized vegetable oils, citrates, mellitates, adipates, benzoates, maleates, succinates, sebacates, phosphates, isosorbide esters. Because these plasticizers are not covalently linked to PVC, they can migrate within the material and leach out when the plastic comes into contact with air [9], liquid [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]or some absorbent solid materials [18][19][20]. Some polymeric plasticizers such as poly(ε-caprolactone), poly(butylene adipate), and poly(epichlorohydrin) are also utilized.…”