Health risk assessment of dietary exposure to phthalates from plastic-coated paper among university students

Abstract

Plastic-coated paper (PCP) is commonly used as a takeaway food container in Thailand. This study aimed to investigate the phthalate content in PCP and to evaluate the health risk of dietary exposure to phthalates. Determination of phthalates, namely, of benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), was carried out using a simple total immersion test followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Consumption data of 430 students in a university were collected by a questionnaire for health risk assessment. The results showed that DEHP was the most abundant compound detected in the PCP samples, followed by DBP and BBP, respectively. The hazard indexes (<1) showed that the health risk to all subjects was acceptable, but monitoring of phthalates in PCP on market shelves should be performed regularly to protect consumers’ health.