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Microplastics supply contaminants in food chain: non-negligible threat to health safety
Summary
This review examines how microplastics in the food chain can carry and concentrate organic pollutants like pesticides and industrial chemicals, making them more dangerous together than either would be alone. Microplastics accumulate on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables and can build up through the food web. The combined effect of microplastics and the toxic chemicals they carry poses a growing but still poorly understood threat to food safety and human health.
The occurrence of microplastics (MPs) and organic pollutants (OPs) residues is commonly observed in diverse environmental settings, where their interactions can potentially alter the behavior, availability, and toxicity of OPs, thereby posing risks to ecosystems. Herein, we particularly emphasize the potential for bioaccumulation and the biomagnification effect of MPs in the presence of OPs within the food chain. Despite the ongoing influx of novel information, there exists a dearth of data concerning the destiny and consequences of MPs in the context of food pollution. Further endeavors are imperative to unravel the destiny and repercussions of MPs/OPs within food ecosystems and processing procedures, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of the joint effect on human health and food quality. Nevertheless, the adsorption and desorption behavior of coexisting pollutants can be significantly influenced by MPs forming biofilms within real-world environments, including temperature, pH, and food constituents. A considerable portion of MPs tend to accumulate in the epidermis of vegetables and fruits, thus necessitating further research to comprehend the potential ramifications of MPs on the infiltration behavior of OPs on agricultural product surfaces.