Phthalates have become ubiquitous environmental contaminants due to their widespread applications in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products (as plasticisers) and in consumer and personal care products. Some phthalates are also being used in food packaging, such as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in PVC gaskets of lids for glass jars. Phthalates are of increasing concern to humans due to the potential for exposure and the findings of adverse effects from toxicology studies in animals. Recently, total diet food samples of various categories including dairy, meat, poultry, fish, cereal, vegetable, fruit, beverage were analysed for 20 phthalates including DEHP for exposure assessment under the Government of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan. Among the findings, relatively high levels of DEHP were found frequently in samples of vegetables and fruits, for example, 899 ng/g in rutabagas, 713 ng/g in peas, 676 ng/g in mushroom, 675 ng/g in cucumber, 657 ng/g in lettuce, 600 ng/g in apples, 383 ng/g in bananas, 324 ng/g in cherries etc. Sources of DEHP in the vegetable and fruit samples are not clear. Phthalates including DEHP could be introduced during preparation by suppliers to retailers where vegetables and fruits are washed with water containing detergent to remove soil. Packaging could contribute DEHP for some vegetable and fruit samples, such as the plastic wraps used for fresh cucumber and mushroom, can coatings for the composite of peas and cherries, and gaskets used in the lid for bottled pickles for the composite of cucumber. However, most of the vegetables and fruits were not packaged and they were simply placed in polyethylene (low- or high density) bags which are not expected to be plasticised with DEHP since they are naturally flexible. Although DEHP in these vegetable and fruit samples could also be from environmental contamination (air, water and/or soil), the most likely sources of DEHP in vegetable and fruit samples could be from the agricultural practices since the use of DEHP plasticized PVC film in greenhouse and the use of DEHP plasticized PVC mulch film for various vegetables and fruits are very common in some parts of the world, and this will be further investigated in the future studies.

Plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in vegetables and fruits

2019 Fall National Meeting

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