Phthalate content in toy samples available on the market of the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Phthalates are a family of synthetic chemicals commonly used as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride-based polymers. They are used in a variety of commercial consumer products, including children's toys. Exposure to phthalates is associated with various adverse health effects, such as developmental and reproductive disorders, liver and kidney toxicity, etc. In the European Union, but also in the Republic of Serbia, restrictions have been imposed on the presence of seven phthalates in toys. In addition, the European Union has established the Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products (RAPEX) to protect consumers across borders by preventing or restricting the sale and use of non-food articles, including children's toys, that pose a significant health and safety risk. In this work, 118 samples of children's toys from the market of the Republic of Serbia were analysed for the presence of all seven restricted phthalates using the HPLC-DAD method. We also comprehensively analysed the RAPEX notifications of toys posing a chemical risk due to the presence of phthalates from 2012 to 2022. In total, 23.7% of the tested toy samples contained one or more phthalates above 0.1% w/w, which corresponds to the legal limit. DEHP was found above the limit in all non-compliant toy samples, followed by DBP, DINP, BBP and DIDP. DIBP and DNOP were not found in any of the samples. In general, phthalates were present in the tested samples in concentrations ranging from <LOQ to 36.6% (w/w), depending on the type of phthalate detected, with DINP detected in the highest concentration. In the period 2012–2022, 1192 alerts related to non-compliant toys were registered due to the illegal presence of phthalates. Among them, DEHP was present in 94.79% of toy samples, while it was the only phthalate in 58.4% of toy samples. Furthermore, DEHP was present in the highest concentration of about 18.5% (w/w), with a maximum detected concentration of up to 55% (w/w). The results presented in this article show that even more than a decade after the introduction of the ban and restrictions on phthalates in toys, toys are still a significant source of children's exposure to phthalates.