Sulla determinazione degli ftalati nei vini. Nota preliminare

Many experimental observations report that human exposure to phthalates is derived from both the food chain and the use of surgical equipment due to migration from polymeric material where they are used as plasticizers. Phthalate are generally recognised as carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors, mainly acting on the reproductive apparatus.In this preliminary study data on phthalates occurrence in the oenological field are reported; the activity has been mainly carried out to establish the most convenient analytical procedure to be applied in a wider survey on the presence of these contaminants in wines. Wine samples were analysed and fortified with different phthalates. All the samples were used to compare different extraction procedures to establish the most readily adaptable. We compare liquid/liquid extraction (LLE), solid phase extraction (SPE) and solid phase microextraction (SPME). These techniques were compared in terms of efficiency considering as key features recovery and ease and speed of use. SPE appeared the most suitable for samples analysis. GCMS data show that among different samples there is a high variability of total phthalates contamination ranging from 0.055 mg/l to 0.838 mg/l, only one sample was found as negative and 5% of total samples were found below 0.100 mg/l. A lower level of phthalates was found in wines sampled by producers suggesting that the contamination might occur along the whole production chain. The material used in the packaging (glass bottles and multi-layers synthetic material) did not affect the contamination levels in the analysed samples.