Phthalates in Beverages and Plastic Bottles: Sample Preparation and Determination

Several compounds of the phthalate family are widely applied as additives for polymers as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These compounds are not part of the polymer chains, and therefore, they can be released easily from products and migrate into beverages that come into direct contact causing environmental and human health impacts. Because of this, certain phthalates (PAEs) have been identified as priority pollutants by the European Union (EU), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other international organizations. Due to that the concentration of these compounds in beverages is found at very low level, a pretreatment step prior to their analysis is necessary; thus, several sample preparation methods have been described, such as liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE), solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and liquid-phase microextraction (LPME). Chromatographic techniques such as gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) or liquid chromatography (LC) with UV detector, diode array detector (DAD), and MS have been used to analyze PAEs. Additionally, non-chromatographic techniques such as electrochemical sensors and immunoassay-based techniques have been described for PAE analysis in beverages. This review provides an overview of the different analytical techniques for PAE quantification in beverages and their plastic containers, focused in the last 10 years published works, covering the sample preparation and determination, as well as the legislation and the evaluation of main factors that could promote the migration of these plasticizers from polymers into beverages.