Concentrations of Phthalate Esters and Novel Plasticizers in Food Products of U.S. Fast Food Chains: A Preliminary Analysis

Edwards, L., McCray, NL, VanNoy, BN etal. Concentrations of phthalate esters and novel plasticizers in foods of US fast food chains: a preliminary analysis. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2021) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00392-8

Commentary

Fast food consumption is associated with biomarkers of orthophthalate exposure. However, the chemical composition of fast food is unknown.

Certain orthophthalates (i.e., di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) have been phased out and replaced by other plasticizers (e.g., dioctyl terephthalate (DEHT)).

This study involved a preliminary investigation to determine the concentrations of orthophthalates and alternative plasticizers in food and food handling gloves from fast food restaurants in the United States.

 Hamburgers, fries, chicken nuggets, chicken burritos, cheese pizzas (n = 64 food samples), and gloves (n = 3) were obtained from restaurants and analyzed for 11 chemicals using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results showed that DEHT was found to be at the highest concentration in both the food and gloves, with DnBP and DEHP detected in 81% and 70% of the food samples, respectively.

The median DEHT concentration was significantly higher in burritos than in hamburgers, and no DEHT was detected in French fries.

Cheese pizza resulted in the lowest levels of most chemicals.