Methodology version 1.0 · effective September 12, 2026
Plastic-chemical testing and risk methodology
Laboratory.love anonymously acquires consumer products, sends separately sourced samples to Light Labs for phthalate and bisphenol analysis, publishes the measured concentrations and detection statuses, and adds serving-size exposure context. Imported PlasticList records are labeled separately and retain the metadata supplied by that source.
How to read a result
- Confirm whether the page is a Laboratory.love-commissioned test or a PlasticList-derived record.
- Check how many physical samples and lots were analyzed; variation between them matters.
- Read each measurement status. Detected, below LOQ, not detected, and not tested do not mean the same thing.
- Use ng/g for the direct laboratory measurement. Per-serving and percent-of-TDI views add assumptions about serving size and body weight.
- Compare products cautiously: different lots, dates, detection limits, and source methods can affect the result.
What the risk bands mean
We calculate the percentage of a reference daily intake contributed by one stated serving for a 70 kg adult or 14 kg child. Low is below 2.5%; medium is 2.5% to below 7.5%; high is 7.5% or above. A low band does not mean zero exposure or universally safe, and a high band is not a diagnosis.
Below 2.5%
2.5% to <7.5%
7.5% or above
What “below LOQ” means
The limit of quantitation (LOQ) is the lowest level the laboratory can quantify with its specified accuracy and precision. “Below LOQ” is not the same as zero and is not the same as “not tested.” The result tables preserve those statuses, and the downloadable dataset exposes them directly.
Technical protocol
1. Acquisition, samples, lots, and custody
Laboratory.love-commissioned products are purchased anonymously through normal retail channels rather than supplied by a manufacturer. The current protocol targets three separately sourced samples from different production lots when practical. Each result page reports the actual sample and lot information available for that product; historical records do not always meet the current target.
Stored acquisition metadata can include the order date, sample identifier, lot code, product variant, and intake notes. Laboratory certificates provide the laboratory-side record. We do not claim a more detailed formal chain-of-custody history when it is absent from the published record.
2. Laboratory, assays, and methods
Original tests are analyzed by Light Labs, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory. Stored records currently identify GC-MS/MS for the phthalate panel and LC-MS/MS / LLMTDB for the BPA, BPS, and BPF panel. Each result page reports its stored assay, method, and test date; when a field is unavailable, the page says so instead of inferring it.
PlasticList-derived records were imported from PlasticList. The imported fields available here do not identify the laboratory, analytical method, or exact test date, so those values remain blank in the public dataset.
3. Complete analyte list
Primary phthalate panel (18):
- Dimethyl phthalate
- Diethyl phthalate
- Diallyl phthalate
- Diisobutyl phthalate
- Dibutyl phthalate
- Bis (2-methoxyethyl) phthalate
- Bis (4-methyl-2-pentyl) phthalate
- Bis (2-ethoxyethyl) phthalate
- Dipentyl phthalate
- Dihexyl phthalate
- Benzylbutyl phthalate
- Bis (2-n-butoxyethyl) phthalate
- Dicyclohexyl phthalate
- Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
- Diphenylphthalate
- Di-n-octylphthalate
- Diisononyl ortho phthalate
- Dinonyl phthalate
Bisphenol panel (3): Bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol S (BPS), and Bisphenol F (BPF).
Supplemental plasticizers represented in published data:
- Diisodecyl adipate (DIDA)
- Di (2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT)
- Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP)
- Diisononyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH)
- Diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA)
Not every source record contains a measurement for every supplemental analyte. “Not tested” is retained as missing measurement coverage, not converted into a non-detect.
4. Units, LOD, LOQ, and qualifiers
Raw concentrations are reported as nanograms per gram (ng/g), used here as the numeric equivalent of parts per billion (ppb). The limit of detection (LOD) concerns whether an analyte can be distinguished from background; the LOQ concerns whether it can be quantified reliably. Limits vary by analyte, matrix, and run.
- Detected: a quantified value is available.
- Below LOQ: not reliably quantifiable; a numeric bound is retained only when the source supplies one.
- Not detected: the source explicitly reports a non-detect.
- Not tested: no measurement was supplied for that sample/analyte.
- >X: the concentration exceeds the reported range; X is a floor, not an exact value.
LOD and LOQ fields remain blank when the source record does not provide a numeric limit.
5. Aggregation and non-detect handling
Product-level ratings average the available physical-sample values before applying serving size. In legacy PlasticList strings, a value written “<X” contributes X/2 to phthalate and substitute calculations; “>X” contributes X as a conservative known floor. If every value in a bisphenol group is a “<X” non-detect, the group is set to zero for its rating so half-LOQ substitutions do not dominate the very small BPA reference intake. Missing and nonnumeric values contribute zero to the current calculation.
These substitutions affect the derived exposure display, not the raw table or download: exported records preserve the original status, qualifier, value, and numeric LOQ when available.
6. Exposure and TDI calculations
For a measured concentration C in ng/g and serving size S in grams, intake per serving is C × S ng. Percent of reference intake is intake ÷ (reference ng/kg/day × body weight in kg) × 100. The interface offers 70 kg adult and 14 kg child views.
- Phthalates: DEHP + 5×DBP + 0.1×BBP + 0.3×DINP is compared with the 50,000 ng/kg/day group TDI. Other measured phthalates remain visible but do not enter this group score.
- Bisphenols: BPA, BPS, and BPF are summed and compared with EFSA’s BPA TDI of 0.2 ng/kg/day. Applying the BPA value to the three-chemical sum is a Laboratory.love screening convention, not an EFSA group TDI for BPS and BPF.
- Substitutes: DEHT + 3.33×DEHA + 1×DINCH + 0×DIDA is compared with a 1,000,000 ng/kg/day DEHT reference. This is a project screening model, not an official cumulative regulatory assessment.
Primary references: EFSA’s 2019 phthalate group assessment and EFSA’s 2023 BPA re-evaluation.
7. Known limitations
- Small sample counts cannot characterize every lot, retailer, region, formulation, or future production run.
- Serving sizes and assumed body weights may differ from an individual’s actual intake.
- A single product is only one exposure source; the scores do not estimate total diet or non-food exposure.
- Analytical uncertainty, matrix effects, contamination, and source-data errors are possible.
- Source coverage and metadata differ between commissioned and imported records.
- TDI values and scientific interpretations can change; risk bands are not clinical or regulatory findings.
8. Versioning, corrections, and review
Version 1.0, September 12, 2026: documented source separation, the complete analyte list, stored assay methods, units and qualifiers, current non-detect substitutions, calculation formulas, limitations, and dataset linkage. Material changes to calculations or interpretation will receive a new methodology version and an entry in the public changelog.
Suspected transcription, provenance, calculation, or interpretation errors can be reported through the contact page. Confirmed material corrections will update the affected result and dataset version and will be described in the changelog. Certificates of Analysis for Laboratory.love-commissioned results are available on request when held by the project.