Contamination of Italian citrus essential oils: presence of phthalate esters

Contamination by phthalate esters of Sicilian and Calabrian citrus essential oils, produced in the crop years 1994-1996, was investigated using a GC-MS system with direct injection of the samples. A total of 35 lemon oils, 31 orange oils, and 21 mandarin oils were analyzed. Diisobutyl phthalate and/or bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were found in almost all samples, while di-n-butyl phthalate was present in 8. Concentrations up to a maximum of 62 ppm were found for diisobutyl phthalate and up to a maximum of 29.9 ppm for bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.