A substance added to a polymer or other materials to increase flexibility, workability, durability, or other physical properties.
Plasticizers are commonly used in plastics and other polymer-based materials because they can change the physical properties of the material. Different plasticizers have different chemical structures and safety profiles.
Some plasticizers can migrate out of materials and enter food, air, dust, or other environments. For this reason, their use in food-contact materials is evaluated in relation to the specific substance and intended conditions of use.
Phthalates are one group of chemicals that has been used as plasticizers, although many other substances can also serve this function.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Phthalate: some phthalates are plasticizers, but not all plasticizers are phthalates.
- Plastic: the material being modified; a plasticizer is an additive rather than the plastic itself.
SEE ALSO
