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An Environmental Nutrition Framework for Micro- and Nanoplastics Exposure Assessment
Summary
Tiny plastic particles are making their way through our food supply—from seafood to crops to processed foods—and this review pulls together what scientists currently know about how that happens and what it might mean for our gut, liver, brain, and metabolism. The good news: certain foods and nutrients (like polyphenols found in fruits, vegetables, and probiotics) may help our bodies defend against the inflammation and cell damage linked to swallowing these particles. While researchers are still building better tools to track and measure this exposure, the takeaway is that eating a nutrient-rich diet may be one practical way to help offset some of the risks while science catches up
This chapter per the authors evaluates micro- and nanoplastic exposure within food systems through an environmental nutrition framework emphasizing trophic transfer, dietary intake pathways, and contamination dynamics across aquatic, agricultural, and processed food chains. The analysis evaluates accumulation across trophic levels and associated oral exposure burdens affecting gastrointestinal, hepatic, neurological, and metabolic functions while addressing oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling linked to dietary plastic ingestion. Nutritional mitigation strategies involving bioactive compounds, probiotics, polyphenols, and cellular defense modulators are assessed alongside food safety surveillance systems, contaminant detection approaches, and computational exposure forecasting tools. Integration of environmental nutrition, food exposure science, and traceability analytics supports One Health–oriented assessment of dietary nanoplastic risks, food-system resilience, and contaminant control dynamics.