title: Contamination of Italian citrus essential oils: presence of phthalate esters.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Chimica Organica e Biologica, Università di Messina, Salita Sperone 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Bella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saitta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salvo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dugo
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D002957:Citrus / Q000737:chemistry*; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D007558:Italy; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010795:Phthalic Acids