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Microplastics in animal nutrition: Occurrence, spread, and hazard in animals
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic particles less than 5mm — move through the food chain and enter animals via contaminated food, water, and prey, potentially disrupting gut health, nutrient absorption, and hormonal function across fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrates. Because these effects can pass up the food chain, the review warns of human health risks from eating animal products contaminated with microplastics.
Microplastics (MPs) are small plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, which have become a common environmental contaminant, spreading across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Concerns have been raised about the impact of microplastics on animal health and nutrition due to their accumulation and potential transfer through the food chain. This review aims to summarize current knowledge about microplastics in animal nutrition, with a focus on their occurrence, sources, routes of exposure, and potential effects on animal physiology and metabolism. Animals can consume microplastics through a variety of routes, including direct consumption of contaminated food, uptake from contaminated water, and ingestion of organisms that have already consumed microplastics. MPs have been found in a variety of animal species, including fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrates, highlighting the possibility of widespread exposure and bioaccumulation. MPs can interact with the gastrointestinal tract after being ingested, potentially influencing nutrient absorption, gut microbiota composition, and overall digestive efficiency. MPs may also act as carriers for other chemical pollutants, potentially increasing their bioavailability and toxic effects on animals. While some studies indicate that microplastics may cause adverse effects in animals such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of endocrine functions, the overall health effects and long-term consequences of microplastic (MP) exposure in animal nutrition remain unknown. Furthermore, the review discusses the potential consequences of microplastics in animal-derived food products, considering the human health risks associated with their consumption. • Microplastics are small plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, which have become a common environmental contaminant, spreading across terrestrial. • Concerns have been raised about the impact of microplastics on animal health and nutrition. • Microplastics can interact with the gastrointestinal tract after being ingested, potentially influencing nutrient absorption, gut microbiota composition, and overall digestive efficiency. • Microplastics may act as carriers for other chemical pollutants, potentially increasing their bioavailability and toxic effects on animals.
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Researchers reviewed how microplastic exposure affects animals across terrestrial and aquatic environments, finding that species suffer physical harm, chemical contamination from pollutants that stick to plastic surfaces, inflammation, and behavioral changes. Because microplastics accumulate up the food chain, the review warns that animals entering the human food supply may carry these particles into our bodies.
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This review summarizes the current understanding of how microplastic ingestion affects animal health across multiple species including livestock, poultry, and aquatic organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of gut function in animals, with smaller particles posing greater risks due to their ability to cross biological barriers. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in feed and water sources is an emerging concern for animal agriculture and nutrition.
Microplastics in the Environment: Uptake, Bioaccumulation and Impacts on Plants, Animals and Humans Health: A Review
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This review examines microplastic uptake, bioaccumulation, and health impacts across plants, animals, and humans. The study summarizes current evidence on how microplastic particles smaller than 5 mm have been detected in all environmental compartments and are entering biological systems through multiple exposure pathways.
Microplastics in human food chains: Food becoming a threat to health safety
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This review traces how microplastics enter the human food chain through both animal and plant sources, food packaging, and beverages. Once consumed, microplastics can accumulate in tissues and release harmful chemicals like plasticizers and heavy metals inside the body. The study emphasizes that food has become a major exposure pathway for microplastics and calls for stricter regulation of plastic use in food production and packaging.
Microplastics in Farmed Animals—A Review
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This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination in farmed animals including fish, cattle, and poultry, finding that microplastics have been detected in their intestines, liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive organs. The particles disrupt gut bacteria, cause tissue damage, and carry toxic chemicals and pathogens. Since these animals are raised for human consumption, microplastics in livestock represent a direct pathway for plastic contamination to reach people through their diet.
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