## 1 Introduction  
Currently, plastics are one of the most practical and economical ways to contain food, healthcare products, cosmetics, or other products [1; 2; 3]. The development and wide use of plastic materials as containers has led the packaging industry to significantly change the chemical composition of plastics in recent years. In fact, chemical additives are added to their composition to increase their malleability, brilliance, and workability. Among these additives, the most commonly used are phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) [4; 5; 6]. Phthalates (or phthalate esters, PAEs) are compounds synthesized by double esterification of 1,2 benzedicarboxylic acid (phthalic acid) with linear or branched alcohols, starting from methanol or ethanol (C\({}_{1}\)-C\({}_{2}\)), up to isotridecanol (C\({}_{13}\)). Depending on the molecular weight, they can be used in various industrial applications. Low molecular weight phthalates, such as diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), have been used since 1930 in personal care and hygiene products (in the preparation of perfumes, shampoos, soaps, lotions, cosmetics, and softeners, or added as plasticizers of cellulose acetate), in the process industry (e.g., production of lacquers, paints, lubricating oils, adhesives, inks, insecticides, coatings), and also in the pharmaceutical industry (in some drugs, it is used to regulate the release speed) [7]. On the other hand, high molecular weight phthalates, such as bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), disisonyl phthalate (DINP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DINOP) are mainly used as plasticizers in the production of vinyl, which is often used in products such as flooring and wall covering, toys, food packing, and medical devices [8]. The plasticizing phthalates, which also include diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), are used as intermolecular lubricants conferring hardness, flexibility, malleability, and elasticity [9]. The chemical and physical properties vary with the structure, that is, with the length of the chain and the branches. They are generally colorless and odorless and lipophilic, and show a high boiling point and a low vapor pressure, both parameters influencing their high stability and presence in the environment. Fundamentally, up to 8 million tons of phthalate products are produced each year worldwide, of which over 2 million are just DEHP [10]. In Western Europe, about one million tons of phthalates are produced annually, of which 900,000 are used in the production process of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to increase its plastic properties. PAEs are molecules that are not covalently linked to the matrix and show a tendency to migrate, especially in the presence of lipophilic compounds and/or in the event of mechanical or thermal stress [11]. For example, a generic product containing PVC (it may include more than 40% of DEHP) or other products containing such molecules produces a typical release of PAEs into the environment [12; 13]. Therefore, PAEs represent ubiquitous contaminants and decompose with both exposure to sunlight and aerobic microbial activity; they tend to adsorb soil particles, sediments, and humus where they are protected from sunlight. From the environmental point of view, PAEs have a duration (and therefore a permanence) of several hours in the atmosphere and of months in the soil, whereas they can persist for years in sediments [14]. They can bioaccumulate in invertebrates, fish, and plants, whereas in complex animals they are efficiently metabolized and excreted. This last consideration is very important because the possible presence of PAEs in tissues [15] indicates a very recent exposure/contamination. PAEs play an extremely dangerous role for human health because they can accumulate in the human body and cause chronic intoxication causing serious damage to the liver and/or reproductive system [16]. In fact, they are considered endocrine disruptors [17]. Humans are widely exposed to PAEs [18].