A FTIR METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TOTAL SPECIFIC MIGRATION OF AROMATIC PLASTICIZERS FROM POLY(VINYL CHLORIDE)

For the safety assessment of plastic packaging materials, there is a need for methods which allow determination of the migration of complex mixtures of substances whose toxic behaviours are additive. This work applies to phthalates, which are widely used as plasticizers. Infrared spectroscopy is applicable to phthalates derived from primary alcohols and from oxo-alcohols, which have been shown to have very close maximum absorptions and molar extinction coefficients, whatever the length of the alkyl chain. This method can also be extended to trimellitic esters. The migrations of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and Tris(2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate (TEHTM) from PVC pouches into fatty food and food simulants were compared. TEHTM migrated in larger amounts into lipohilic simulants, whereas in aqueous simulants the opposite was observed. These results were interpreted on the basis of the interaction of the plasticizer with the simulant.