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Microplastics contamination in food products: Occurrence, analytical techniques and potential impacts on human health
Summary
Researchers reviewed the occurrence of microplastics in a wide range of food products — including drinking water, seafood, honey, salt, and vegetables — and the health effects of ingesting them, which include inflammation, gut microbiome disruption, hormone disruption, and increased cancer risk. The review calls for standardized detection methods and a multi-pronged strategy combining source reduction, better recycling, and biodegradable plastic alternatives.
Chemically, microplastics (MPs) are synthetic materials composed of plastic monomers and additives and vary in size from 0.1 to 5000 μm. Due to their chemical stability and the widespread use of plastics for various purposes, MP contamination of the environment has increased dramatically, leading to the contamination of daily consumer products as well. Although previous studies have reported the environmental impacts of MPs, only a few studies have highlighted the occurrence of MPs in food products and their possible effects on human health. Recent investigations have identified MP particles in drinking water and other beverages, seafood, plant products, salt, sugar, and honey, raising an alarm over the safety and quality of these food items. Ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact of such food and other consumer goods are the common routes through which MPs may enter the human body and can have several deleterious health impacts including oxidative stress, inflammation, immunotoxicity, increased risk of neoplasia, cellular metabolism impairment, neurotoxicity, gut microbiome dysbiosis, disruption of reproductive system among others. A collective approach employing source control, recycling, biodegradable plastics, strengthening legislation, and bioremediation could be a promising and sustainable solution to control the MP pollution. The key challenge appears to standarize detection methods along with reducing the MP contamination from the food products as well as from the environment. Therefore, this review focuses on the occurrence of MPs in several food products, current methods of analysis, potential health impacts, and strategies to mitigate the widespread MP pollution. It also adds novel findings, knowledge gaps, and recommendations that can guide future research in this field.