Consumer guide

How to read a plastic-chemical lab result

By Laboratory.love · Published September 23, 2026

Review: this guide has not been independently peer reviewed. Regulatory status is current as of the date above.

A plastic-chemical lab result reports how much of each chemical was measured in each sample of a food, usually in nanograms per gram (ng/g), the same as parts per billion. Read it in four steps: check the units, read each result’s status (detected, below the limit of quantitation, not detected, or not tested), compare the samples to see how much they vary, and only then convert concentrations into exposure using serving size and body weight against a tolerable daily intake. A result describes the samples tested at one point in time, not every unit of the product.

1. Check the units

Equivalent concentration units
Unit	Meaning	In ng/g
1 ng/g	nanogram per gram of food	The unit our results use
1 µg/kg	microgram per kilogram	Same as 1 ng/g
1 ppb	part per billion by mass	Same as 1 ng/g
1 mg/kg	milligram per kilogram	1,000 ng/g

A concentration is not an amount eaten. Our result tables can also show nanograms per serving and the percentage of a tolerable daily intake for a 70 kg adult or a 14 kg child; those views add assumptions about serving size and body weight.

2. Read each result’s status

What each measurement status means
Status	What it means	What it does not mean
Detected	The laboratory quantified the chemical; the number is the measured concentration.	That the level is harmful. Compare with a tolerable daily intake only after accounting for serving size.
Below LOQ	The chemical may be present, but below the lowest level the laboratory can quantify reliably (the limit of quantitation).	Zero. When a number accompanies it, that number is the limit, not the concentration.
Not detected	The laboratory reported a non-detect: no signal distinguishable from background at its detection limit.	That the product is free of the chemical, or below a safety threshold. That depends on the detection limit.
Not tested	No measurement exists for that chemical in that sample, usually because it was not on the panel.	A non-detect. Missing coverage is not evidence of absence.
>X (above range)	The concentration exceeded the range the laboratory reported; X is a floor.	An exact value. The true concentration is higher than X.

The limit of detection (LOD) is the lowest level that can be distinguished from background; the limit of quantitation (LOQ) is the lowest level that can be measured with the laboratory’s specified accuracy. Limits vary by chemical, food, and run. Ask for them as numbers: for BPA, a 100 g serving reaches EFSA’s tolerable daily intake for a 70 kg adult at about 0.14 ng/g, so a non-detect is only reassuring if the limit is lower than that.

3. Compare the samples

Look at each sample, not only an average. PlasticList found that two samples of the same product differed in plastic-chemical levels by an average of 59% (relative percent difference). Wide differences between samples mean one test would have told you little; consistent results across samples from different lots are more informative. Check each sample’s lot code and dates, and note when lot codes cannot confirm the samples came from different production runs.

4. Convert to exposure, then compare with a limit

Intake from one serving is the concentration times the serving size: ng/g × grams = ng. Divide by the tolerable daily intake (TDI) multiplied by body weight to get the percentage of the TDI that one serving provides.

Example (illustrative values)

30 ng/g DEHP and 10 ng/g DBP in a 50 g serving is 4,000 ng of DEHP equivalents: 0.11% of EFSA’s group TDI of 50 µg/kg per day for a 70 kg adult and 0.57% for a 14 kg child.

Our result pages band one serving’s contribution: Low is below 2.5% of the TDI, Medium is 2.5% to below 7.5%, and High is 7.5% or above. These are Laboratory.love screening bands, not regulatory or clinical findings. A low band is not proof of safety, and a high band is not a diagnosis; a single food is only one part of total daily exposure.

Comparing results between products

Results from different dates, lots, or laboratories are not strictly comparable.
Different detection limits can turn the same true level into a detection in one test and a non-detect in another.
Check who commissioned each test. Our results directory labels Laboratory.love-commissioned tests separately from records imported from PlasticList, which lack laboratory and method metadata.

Go deeper

Chemical-specific detail is in our phthalates and bisphenols guides. Exact formulas, potency factors, and non-detect handling are in the methodology, and every field in our published data is described in the data catalog. To get your own food tested, see our guide to testing food for BPA and phthalates.

Sources

Corrections

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.

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