Phthalate diester occurrence in marine feed and food (Mediterranean Sea)

Organic contaminants such as diesters of phthalic acid (PAEs) can be conveyed by microplastics in aquatic environment and constitute a relevant risk to marine organisms and humans that consume them. A method was developed for the identification and quantitative detection of 6 dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di-2-ethylesyl phthalate (DHEP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP). PAEs were then quantified in mesozooplankton, mollusk bivalves, and fish from the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Among all PAEs, DEHP was found in all zooplankton samples, in 30% of fish samples, and in 10% of bivalve samples. DBP was instead recovered in only 4% of samples (plankton and fish).