Phthalates in food: what we test and how to read the results

Ortho-phthalates, usually just called phthalates, are plasticizers: they make plastic, especially polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl), softer and less brittle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration describes their food-related uses as food packaging and minor food-contact uses such as components of adhesives, lubricants, and sealants. They are not authorized to be added directly to food.

Phthalates can migrate from plastic into the food it touches, which is why food-contact rules limit migration. A measurement of the finished food includes phthalates from every source it was exposed to, whether packaging, processing, or ingredients.

Every Laboratory.love sample is analyzed for 18 phthalates by GC-MS/MS at Light Labs, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory. Phthalate substitutes and DIDP are also reported when the laboratory panel includes them. The complete protocol is in our methodology.

Food-contact regulation controls the material, not the food. In the European Union, Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 sets specific migration limits: the maximum amount of a substance allowed to move from a plastic material into food. For materials not yet in contact with food, compliance is checked in food simulants, test liquids such as dilute ethanol, dilute acetic acid, or vegetable oil that mimic how foods draw substances out of plastic. The regulation also restricts where specific phthalates may be used; for example, DEHP and DBP may be used as plasticizers only in repeated-use materials that contact non-fatty foods.

In the United States, the FDA regulates which phthalates may be used in food-contact materials and for what purposes. As of September 2026 it authorizes nine: eight as plasticizers and one as a monomer.

Finished-food testing answers a different question: how much of each phthalate is in the food as sold, from every source combined. It cannot show whether a particular package complied with a migration limit, and it cannot say which source a chemical came from. Conversely, a package that passes migration testing does not tell you the concentration in a specific food. EFSA noted in 2019 that there was not enough information to conclude how much migration from plastic food-contact materials contributes to dietary phthalate exposure.

EFSA’s 2019 assessment kept the individual tolerable daily intakes (TDIs) it set in 2005 and added a group TDI of 50 µg/kg body weight per day for DEHP, DBP, BBP, and DINP, expressed as DEHP equivalents. The group reflects a plausible common mechanism, reduced fetal testosterone. DIDP is assessed separately. EFSA described the assessment as temporary.

Our result pages weight DBP ×5, BBP ×0.1, and DINP ×0.3 relative to DEHP and compare the sum with the group TDI, as described in the methodology. Other measured phthalates are shown but do not enter this score.

In the United States, the FDA revoked authorizations for 23 phthalates in 2022 because industry had abandoned those uses, not because of a new safety finding. In May 2026 it proposed treating DEHP, DCHP, DIOP, and DINP as a related group for a future cumulative risk assessment.

• Units. ng/g means nanograms per gram of food, numerically the same as parts per billion. 1,000 ng/g is 1 µg/g, or 1 mg/kg.
• Detected, below LOQ, not detected. A detected value is a quantified concentration. Below the limit of quantitation means the chemical may be present but not at a level the laboratory can measure reliably. Not detected means the laboratory reported a non-detect. None of these shows the product is free of the chemical.
• Samples differ. PlasticList found that two samples of the same product differed in plastic-chemical levels by an average of 59% (relative percent difference). That is why we test three samples of each product.
• Exposure depends on how much you eat. A concentration becomes an intake only when multiplied by the amount eaten, and it is compared with a TDI using body weight.

See the 2026 analysis of Laboratory.love-commissioned results for how often each phthalate was detected and at what concentrations, the results directory for every product, and the open dataset for sample-level measurements. Our guide to reading lab results explains units, detection status, and exposure step by step. For BPA, BPS, and BPF, see our bisphenols guide.

1. U.S. FDA. Phthalates in Food Packaging and Food Contact Applications
2. EFSA CEP Panel (2019). Update of the risk assessment of DBP, BBP, DEHP, DINP and DIDP for use in food contact materials. EFSA Journal 17(12):5838
3. Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food (consolidated text of 31 August 2023)
4. PlasticList. Report: If you buy the same product twice, how much will chemical levels vary?
5. Laboratory.love testing and risk methodology, version 1.0

Report errors through the contact page. Confirmed corrections are dated on this page and in the changelog, following the methodology’s correction policy. This guide is general information, not medical advice.