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Plasticisers Updated: 28 Apr 2009

What are plasticisers?

 

Jar lid

Lid seals on glass jars may contain plasticisers.

Plasticisers are used to make plastic soft and flexible. They're found in everyday products - toys, food packaging, footwear, flooring, automotive parts.

 They also turn up in places you mightn't expect such as the lid seals on food products sold in glass jars. The seal is that plastic ring you see under the lid on jars of pasta sauce, preserved veges, and baby food.
 
The most common group of chemials used as plasticisers are called phthalates (you pronounce it "thal-ates"; think of the "a" sounds in pal and then dates). Epoxidised soy bean oil (ESBO) is another common plasticiser.
 
Both phthalates and ESBO are frequently used in products made from PVC. On its own, PVC is a hard rigid plastic - plasticisers are added to make PVC soft, so that it can be used more widely.
 
 
Comparison table
 
Information in our table is sourced from reports on phthalates published by the National Research Council (US) and the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (Australia).
 

 

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