Automated GC-MS/MS Method Tackles Oil Phthalates

Phthalates are chemicals commonly added to plastics to make them more flexible. The problem is, they can leach out of plastic packaging and into food, especially fatty or oily foods that come into direct contact with plastic. In the European Union, there are rules limiting how much of these chemicals can migrate from plastic packaging. However, these migration limits do not constitute harmonized maximum levels for phthalates in food itself. That gap makes it important to have solid data and reliable testing methods to track how much of these chemicals end up in what we eat.