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Microplastics in seafood: Implications for food security, safety, and human health
Summary
This review examines how microplastics contaminate seafood -- from fish and shellfish to seaweed -- and what that means for food safety and human health. Marine organisms accumulate microplastics along with the harmful chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria attached to them, creating multiple exposure risks when people eat seafood. With global seafood consumption rising sharply, the authors argue that microplastic contamination in the food supply deserves urgent attention from food safety regulators.
Once critically thought of only as a menace in the marine environment, plastics particulates, especially microplastics (MPs) are gradually gaining access into the human body. However, among diverse sources of exposure examined, seafood might be the most critical, as it is deemed a “necessary evil”. Seafood consumption in recent years has experienced geometric increase and so its likelihood to stealthily introduce food-borne to humans. This is because marine organisms have become repositories of MPs and their domiciled microbial community, which are often not beneficial. We ratiocinated that steady human consumption will increase multiple risks presented plastic composites, their leachates and exogenously formed adsorbents (antibiotic resistance bacteria: ARBs, antibiotic resistance genes: ARGs, heavy metals and noxious aromatics) might pose. However, a critical dearth in literature only affords a collaged comprehension of the whole picture regarding this issue, which might impede progress in risk assessment and control measures. In this regard, this study aimed to update knowledge on known trends and delve deeper to suggest unknowns that might be critical for seafood safety and security, and ultimately, human well-being.