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

Angela Giuliani, Mariachiara Zuccarini, Angelo Cichelli, Haroon Khan and Marcella Reale
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Angela Giuliani: “G.d’Annunzio” School of Advanced Studies, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Mariachiara Zuccarini: Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Angelo Cichelli: Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Haroon Khan: Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
Marcella Reale: Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-43

Abstract: Phthalates are a huge class of chemicals with a wide spectrum of industrial uses, from the manufacture of plastics to food contact applications, children’s toys, and medical devices. People and animals can be exposed through different routes (i.e., ingestion, inhalation, dermal, or iatrogenic exposure), as these compounds can be easily released from plastics to water, food, soil, air, making them ubiquitous environmental contaminants. In the last decades, phthalates and their metabolites have proven to be of concern, particularly in products for pregnant women or children. Moreover, many authors reported high concentrations of phthalates in soft drinks, mineral waters, wine, oil, ready-to-eat meals, and other products, as a possible consequence of their accumulation along the food production chain and their accidental release from packaging materials. However, due to their different physical and chemical properties, phthalates do not have the same human and environmental impacts and their association to several human diseases is still under debate. In this review we provide an overview of phthalate toxicity, pointing out the health and legal issues related to their occurrence in several types of food and beverage.

Keywords: phthalate acid esters; food and beverage contamination; phthalate exposure and health outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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