# Plaaben Compounds--Part I: An Overview of Their Characteristics, Detection, and Impacts
## 4 Legislation
### Detection of Parabens in Products and Concentration of Use in Industrial Products  
Parabens are widely used in the PPCP and foodstuff industries as preservatives. In food, parabens are already used in concentration ranges between 450 and 2000 ppm [22]. For methylparaben, the levels approved by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) for foodstuff are between 0.00 ppm for milk products, cheese, frozen dairy products, meat products, soft candy, gelatin pudding and nonalcoholic beverages up to a maximum of 1.00 ppm for processed vegetables [21]. Regarding propylparaben, the approved level by FEMA for food products are comprised between 0.06 ppm for soft candy and frozen dairy products and 1.00 ppm for processed vegetables, and up to a maximum level of 1.00 ppm for fats and oil and processed vegetables [22]. In pharmaceutical industries, MP is used at 0.065-0.25% in injections, 0.015-0.05% in ophthalmic preparation, between 0.015% and 0.2% in oral solutions and suspensions, at 0.02-0.3% in topical preparations and at 0.1-0.18% in vaginal preparations [21]. For cosmetics, single or combined parabens are used to extend the lifetime of the product, and it is estimated that the preferential parabens for cosmetics are methyl- > ethyl- > propyl- > butyl- >benzylparaben [19; 126]. A study carried out by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed the presence of MP and PP in more than 90% of urine samples from the US general population in concentrations of ng/mL [23]. A study of exposure to parabens in foodstuff from Albany, New York, concluded that in more than 90% of food samples it was possible to detect parabens and measure their concentrations, which ranged from the minimum quantification level up to 409 ng/g fresh weight for the sum of MP, EP, PP, BuP and BeP. In that study the mean level was 9.67 ng/g, the median was 0.92 ng/g, and MP, EP and PP was the most found parabens (about 90% of total concentrations). The estimated daily intake (EDI) calculated for the total parabens regarding food ingestion was 940, 879, 470, 273 and 307 ng/kg of body weight/day for infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, and adults, respectively [23]. [PERSON] et al. [24] analyzed the occurrence of parabens in foodstuff from China, considering more than 282 samples of different foods. MP, EP, PP, BuP, BeP and HeP were detected at general mean levels (considering all the samples) of 22.4, 11, 5.22, 0.607, 0.086 and 0.005 ng/g. The authors also estimated the mean levels for EDI achieving a total paraben ingestion of 1010 and 1060 ng/kg of body weight/day for male and females, respectively. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [25] detected parabens in PPCPs from the United States, with total mean values of 482, 25.4, 143, 76.7, 0.06 and 0.02 ug/g wet weight for MP, EP, PP, BuP, BeP and HeP for rinse-off products (as shampoo, hair conditioner, shaving gel, etc. ), 466, 84.2, 182, 50.6 and 0.03 ug/g wet weight for MP, EP, PP, BuP and BeP in leave-on products (skin lotion, hair care products, perfume, skin toner, deodorant, sunscreen, creams, etc.) and totals of 640, 151, 338, 12.3, 0.86 ug/g wet weight for MP, EP, PP, BuP and BeP in baby care products (shampoo, lotion and oil, diaper cream, sunscreen and powder). The estimated daily intakes by dermal absorption (mean values) for total parabens are 0.84 and 77.1 ug/kg body weight/day for rinse-off and leave-on PPCPs of adult females (21-60 years old), and 322 and 200 ug/kg body weight/day for infants (0-1 years old) and toddlers (2-3 years old), respectively. [PERSON] et al. [127] studied the parabens in the constitution of PPCPs from China, and concluded the existence of parabens at mean values of 1200, 39.1, 746 and 30.9 ug/g of MP, EP, PP and BuP for face creams, 1120, 31.2, 596 ug/g of MP, EP and PP for body and hand lotions, 297, 1, 210 and 63 ug/g and 39, 5.1, 1 and 0.2 ug/g regarding face cleanser and shampoo samples, respectively, and 0.5, 0.1 and 0.1 ug/g of MP, EP and PP for bodywash products.