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Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food?

Environmental Science & Technology 2023 74 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.

Elvis Genbo Xu Himani Yadav, Himani Yadav, Elvis Genbo Xu Himani Yadav, Elvis Genbo Xu Himani Yadav, Elvis Genbo Xu Md Rakib Hasan Khan, Elvis Genbo Xu Md Rakib Hasan Khan, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Himani Yadav, Elvis Genbo Xu Himani Yadav, Mohiuddin Quadir, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Syeed Md Iskander, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Kelly A. Rusch, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Partho Pritom Mondal, Elvis Genbo Xu Syeed Md Iskander, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Partho Pritom Mondal, Syeed Md Iskander, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Megan Orr, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Syeed Md Iskander, Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu Elvis Genbo Xu

Summary

Scientists found that plastic cutting boards release significant amounts of microplastics into food during everyday chopping. Polypropylene boards shed more particles than polyethylene, and chopping vegetables produced even more microplastics than chopping on empty boards. The researchers estimated that a person could be exposed to 7 to 50 grams of microplastic per year just from cutting board use, making kitchen tools a surprisingly large source of dietary plastic exposure.

Polymers

PE PP

Models

Mouse

Plastic cutting boards are a potentially significant source of microplastics in human food. Thus, we investigated the impact of chopping styles and board materials on microplastics released during chopping. As chopping progressed, the effects of chopping styles on microplastic release became evident. The mass and number of microplastics released from polypropylene chopping boards were greater than polyethylene by 5-60% and 14-71%, respectively. Chopping on polyethylene boards was associated with a greater release of microplastics with a vegetable (i.e., carrots) than chopping without carrots. Microplastics showed a broad, bottom-skewed normal distribution, dominated by <100 μm spherical-shaped microplastics. Based on our assumptions, we estimated a per-person annual exposure of 7.4-50.7 g of microplastics from a polyethylene chopping board and 49.5 g of microplastics from a polypropylene chopping board. We further estimated that a person could be exposed to 14.5 to 71.9 million polyethylene microplastics annually, compared to 79.4 million polypropylene microplastics from chopping boards. The preliminary toxicity study of the polyethylene microplastics did not show adverse effects on the viability of mouse fibroblast cells for 72 h. This study identifies plastic chopping boards as a substantial source of microplastics in human food, which requires careful attention.

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