The first US study on phthalates in food investigated 72 commercially available foods and found that all of them contained phthalates. This finding has raised concerns in the academic community about the health risks caused by the accumulation of plasticizers in the human body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A research team from the University of Texas School of Public Health purchased various beverages, dairy products, grains, meats, vegetables, and processed foods from a New York supermarket and tested these foods for nine different phthalates. These nine common phthalates are often used as plasticizers and\/or ingredients in personal care products; these chemicals are known to disrupt the endocrine system and affect development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The test results showed significant differences in the content and detection frequency of different phthalates in the tested foods. Regarding concentration, among all foods except beef, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) had the highest content, with di-N-octylphthlate (DNOP) being the highest concentration of phthalate in beef. Pork had the highest average phthalate concentration among all foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This study also estimated phthalate intake by comparing phthalate concentrations in food with the rate of food consumption. The study found that the estimated intake of phthalates from individual foods was significantly lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) safe intake reference values. However, researchers pointed out that the cumulative effect of phthalate intake is what warrants attention. They called for further research not only on phthalates in food but also on the toxicity resulting from the combination of phthalates in food and other sources (including food packaging and preparation materials).
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