Milk Matters: Milk Fat Impact on Phthalate Exposure

Phthalates are plasticizers added to plastics to improve flexibility. Research has shown that phthalates impact human health through endocrine disruption as well as posing a risk of cancer. Food packaging made of plastics has the potential to cause an increased risk of exposure. Milk packaged in plastic has previously been found to have contamination with phthalates due to the extended contact with the packaging material. However, the amount of phthalate leeching has not been addressed for variation in milk fat. Other packaging components such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have shown variation in leeching based on the amount of fat in the food source. In this experiment, whole milk, fat-free milk, buttermilk, and reduced-fat milk packaged in plastic containers were extracted for phthalates after removing the proteins. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for detection, results show the presence of phthalates in the extracted milk samples. It was found that there was no significant difference between the amount of phthalate in the varying milk fats. While no difference was observed, phthalates were still found in all milk samples. This method shows a dependable approach for detecting phthalates and helps share the awareness of plastic packaged milk to everyone.