Recent European Food Safety Authority toxicological evaluations of major phthalates used in food contact materials.

During the 1980s and 1990s, and at the EU level, the Scientific Committee for Food evaluated a number of phthalates that were being used, or were requested for use, as additives in plastics. At this time, peroxisome proliferation was considered as the pivotal effect on which toxicological evaluation of these chemicals was based. At the end of 1990s, a general consensus has been agreed that rodents are highly sensitive to the phenomenon of peroxisome proliferation and that this particular effect should not be used for human risk assessment. Consequently in 2004, it was requested from the newly created European Food Safety Authority to perform a new evaluation of the mainly used phthalates on the basis of existing data. This paper summarizes evaluations of butylbenzylphthalate, dibutylphthalate, diethylhexylphthalate.