A study by the Institute for Environmental Diagnostics and Water Studies (IDAEA) of the Supreme Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) analyzed the presence of organophosphate plasticizers in 75 different beverage samples: water, cola-type soft drinks, fruit juices, wine and hot drinks. The results show that, on average, sugary drinks have 100 times higher concentration of this type of plasticizer than water, indicates the lowest values. Work published in the journal Environment Internationalfound that the plasticizers came from both the packaging and the sugar added to the drinks.
Plasticizers are a class of chemical compounds added to plastics to give them the desired flexibility and durability. The most recent studies have demonstrated the toxicity of many organophosphate plasticizers, including neurological damage, endocrine disruption, cancer, and fertility problems. “Our results show that over 95% of beverages contain at least one of the 19 organophosphate plasticizers we reviewedIt demonstrates the ubiquity of these compounds and our exposure to them in our daily lives,” he explains. Julio Fernandez ArribasIDAEA researcher and first author of the study.
The highest levels of contamination were found in sugary soft drinks such as cola.With an average concentration of 2876 nanograms per liter (ng/L) and juices containing added sugars (2965 ng/L), lower levels were found in water samples (20.7 ng/L).
“One of the results that caught our attention the most was the discovery that sugary drinks contain higher levels of softener, particularly due to the presence of 2-ethylhexyldiphenyl phosphate (EHDPP),” says the IDAEA researcher. ethel eljarrat and lead author of the study.
Analysis of sugar samples shows high levels of EHDPP, confirming that added sugar in beverages is one of the contamination pathways. It is worth emphasizing that EHDPP toxicity is associated with an increased risk of certain types of cancer, such as breast and uterine cancer.
To find out the effect of the type of vessel on the source of these chemical compounds, the research team analyzed beverages of the same brand, but marketed in different types of containers: glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and tetra brik. The results show that the concentrations of organophosphate plasticizers are similar regardless of the brand and type of container.
“Plasticizers were expected to be found in bottles, cans and tetra briks; However levels in glass packaged beverages were not predictable” indicates eljarrat. The authors discovered that the source of contamination was the plastic coating on the metal plates of the glass bottles to prevent the beverage from coming into contact with metal. This coating releases eight plasticizers into beverages, with EHDPP again being the parent compound.
Considering the per capita beverage consumption in Spain, Intake of these plasticizers through beverages represents up to 10% of the total daily intake.. “Although these values are below the safety threshold, we must take into account that these plasticizers also reach the human body through other routes of exposure, such as ingestion and inhalation, so a full assessment is necessary. The total amount of plasticizer we are exposed to,” concludes Eljarrat.
Reference work: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202300209X?via%3Dihub
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