One of the main problems involved in the determination ofphthalates is laboratory contamination and the blank results werealways subtracted to correct experimental values. All the tests wereperformed in triplicate and an internal quality control was analyzedwith each batch of samples in order to measure background levelswithin the extraction method. Method validation was performedin terms of matrix-effect, specificity, linearity, trueness, precision,CC and CC. Commission Decision 2002/657/EC and 2007/19/ECwere used as guidelines for the validation studies.