Global Summit on
Healthcare and Nutrition

Biography:

Abstract:

In Benin, as in many sub-Saharan African countries, foods cooked and / or packaged in plastic bags are widely marketed through the streets, restaurants or during group events.

Phthalates, that are synthetic organic molecules produced in the polymer industry, are present in various objects of everyday use, including plastic bags and bottles of mineral waters. They are able to induce teratogenic, mutagenic, estrogenic and carcinogenic effects, and endocrine disturbances in human who ingests them by various means.

Using analytical technique based on high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detection system (HPLC / DAD; labs = 230nm, 254 nm and 270nm), phthalates were determined  and measured in various foodstuffs preserved or cooked in plastic packaging: drinking water and cooked corn paste samples.

The total phthalate contents (DMP + DEP + DNP + DALP + DisoP + DEHP) measured in about 100 water samples were ranging  660-8812 ng.L^-1 with a mean value of 2161 ± 1867 ng.L^-1, while in cooked corn pastes, phthalate contents were in the range of 10-350 μg.kg^-1 dry. These concentrations, which are, in some cases, higher than the international guidelines established by WHO (2003) and USEPA (1999) for drinking water and food revealed the real existence of health threats for consumers.

Concomitant studies of trace elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn) and nutrients (Ca, Mg) in foods cooked in plastic packaging showed decreases in the levels of these elements in proportions of 15-30% compared to those cooked  in vegetable originated leaf packagings. These decreases of the nutritional value of food could be due to a possible adsorption of these chemical elements on plastic packagings, that was favored by the complexation process of metals or alkaline earth elements by phthalate molecules.

Keywords : Plastic bag, phthalates, drinking water, food, nutritional value