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Impact of microplastic intake via poultry products: Environmental toxicity and human health

Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 2024 20 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 65 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Prabhakar Sharma, V. K. Vidyarthi

Summary

This review examines how microplastics enter the human diet through poultry products like chicken meat and eggs. Microplastics from contaminated feed, water, and farm environments accumulate in poultry tissues and are then passed to consumers. The study highlights that this food chain transfer represents an underappreciated pathway of human exposure, with potential risks including inflammation, gut disruption, and accumulation of toxic chemicals carried by the plastic particles.

In recent years, the escalating concerns surrounding the pervasive presence of microplastics in the environment had prompted a pressing need to evaluate their potential impacts on ecosystems and human health. This study investigates the pathways and implications of microplastic intake through poultry product consumption by focusing on environmental toxicity and human health risks. Through an integrated approach encompassing available experimental data and literature synthesis, the intricate mechanisms of microplastic transfer from poultry feed to animal tissues are elucidated by highlighting the potential environmental implications of such contamination. An in-depth toxicological assessment evaluated the health risks associated with microplastic ingestion with poultry food consumption by emphasizing the acute and chronic effects on human well-being. This study emphasizes the urgency of implementing informed policy decisions and sustainable practices to mitigate the environmental and human health risks posed by microplastic contamination in the poultry food chain. The insights provided by this study serve as a foundational basis for generating awareness and implementing effective measures aimed at safeguarding both environmental integrity and human well-being from the escalating threats of microplastic pollution.

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