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Microplastic prevalence in commercially available petfoods
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Researchers tested 38 popular UK pet foods and found tiny plastic bits (microplastics) in most of them—76% of products had at least some contamination, with cheaper "value" brands testing worse than premium ones. A large dog eating wet food could swallow over 300 plastic particles a day, meaning our pets may be ingesting even more microplastic than we do, and their waste could be spreading this plastic pollution into soil and wildlife. While the direct health effects on pets aren't fully known yet, this is a good reminder that microplastic exposure is showing up in more places than we realized—including the food bowls of the animals we care
Plastic production has risen dramatically since the 1950s. While microplastic contamination of human food has been investigated, commercially available pet and wildlife foods have not. This could represent a contamination route for terrestrial ecosystems, via the faeces of pets and wild animals. We assessed 38 pet and hedgehog food products available in the U.K., covering a range of brands, price-brackets, and food types. Six 1 g replicates of dried material were tested per product, giving a total sample size of 228. Microplastics were found in 63 samples (27.6%). Of the 38 products, 76% were positive: 29% had one positive sample, and 47% had 2 or more. Most (84%) of the 19 brands tested were contaminated, with value products having more positive samples than mid-range and premium products. The most common polymers were polyester, polyacrylamide, polyethylene, and polypropylene. The mean concentration of microplastics was 0.4 pieces g-1 (SD = 0.84) for all the dry foods tested and 0.3 g-1 (SD = 0.62) in wet foods. Within samples that were plastic-positive, the concentrations were 1.6 pieces g-1 (SD = 0.73) and 1.2 piecesg-1 (SD = 0.53). Given their lower energy content, and correspondingly larger mass consumed, wet foods present the greatest exposure risk. Based on the mean microplastic content across all samples, a large dog (35 kg) fed wet foods is likely to ingest 313 microplastics day-1 (SD = 263.6). Microplastic concentrations in pet food were higher than those reported for human foods but lower than in wild invertebrates. However, pet foods had a greater proportion of positive samples, suggesting they may be an important contamination route for pets, wild mammals and terrestrial ecosystems. This study, therefore, reveals a previously unrecognised pathway for microplastics to enter the food chains of both pets and wild mammals.
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Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in commercial wet pet foods sold in pouch packaging from well-known brands, comparing them to a laboratory-prepared sample made without contact with polymeric materials. The study found microplastics in all commercial samples regardless of price point, while the laboratory control contained 2.3-4.4 times fewer microplastic particles, implicating packaging and processing as contamination sources.
A plastic diet for pets: Exploratory evidence of microplastics in commercial dry pet food in Spain
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Researchers detected microplastics in all five commercial dry pet food brands tested in Spain, with dog food containing more than twice the particle count of cat food, and developed a risk index model suggesting dogs face greater systemic exposure risk while cats may be more prone to chronic intestinal inflammation from fiber-type particles — positioning pets as sentinels for household microplastic exposure.
Occurrence and characterization of microplastics in dry pet food: Investigating geographical variations between European and South American markets
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Dry pet food in Spain and Ecuador contains tiny plastic particles (microplastics), with loose, unpackaged food in Ecuador showing the highest contamination—likely picked up during bulk storage and handling. Dogs eating these foods may be swallowing hundreds of plastic particles daily, some small enough to potentially pass into body tissues, along with a hormone-disrupting chemical called BBP. While this study focused on pets, it's a reminder that packaging and food handling practices matter for microplastic exposure in general, a growing concern for human health too.
Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Pet Food and Feces from the United States
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Researchers measured PET and polycarbonate microplastics in pet food and pet feces from the United States. They found that microplastic concentrations in cat and dog feces were one to two orders of magnitude higher than in their food, suggesting that diet is only a minor source of pet microplastic exposure. The findings indicate that pets, like humans, are exposed to microplastics through multiple pathways in their shared living environments.
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics appear in the feces of humans, dogs, cats, and marine mammals, finding PET plastic to be the most common type across species. Analyzing feces offers a non-invasive way to track how much plastic organisms are ingesting, which could help guide environmental health policies.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.