Phthalates in food items on the Belgian market: contamination routes and intake modelling

Dialkyl- and monoalkyl benzyl phthalate esters, briefly phthalates, are widely used as plasticizers. In food packaging, phthalate use is mainly restricted to adhesives, coatings and printing inks. Phthalates are not covalently bound in the products in which they are incorporated and so may leach from them during manufacture, storage, use and after disposal. Due to their widespread use, some phthalates are ubiquitous in the environment. Human exposure to phthalates occurs predominantly via dietary intake. Some phthalates are thought to be toxic to reproduction. In this study, the presence and concentration of phthalates in 600 food products available on the Belgian market were determined and the various contamination pathways were explored. In aqueous beverages such as soft drinks, fruit juices and beer, phthalate levels were mostly very low (