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Microplastic Contamination of Chicken Meat and Fish through Plastic Cutting Boards
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Researchers found microplastic contamination in chicken and fish purchased from retail markets in the Middle East, with concentrations up to 1.19 particles per gram in chicken and 2.6 particles per gram in fish. The source was traced to plastic cutting boards used during meat preparation, with bone-in cuts showing higher contamination than boneless fillets.
Microplastic contamination was found in fish and chicken bought on the market, in food stores and in chain supermarkets in the Middle East with the contamination ranging from 0.03 ± 0.04 to 1.19 ± 0.72 particles per gram of meat in chicken and from 0.014 ± 0.024 to 2.6 ± 2.8 particles per gram in fish. Only one fish was found to be free of microplastic. The source of the microplastic was established to be the polythene-based plastic cutting board the food was cut on. More microplastic contamination was found in food cut from the bone than in cut fillets when the fillets themselves were prepared on surfaces other than plastic. Washing the fish and chicken before food preparation decreased but did not completely remove the microplastic contamination. The fate of the microplastic in grilled fish was studied. The mechanical properties of typical plastic cutting boards commercially used in the markets were investigated in the form of tensile, hardness, and wear tests. Overall, the plastic cutting boards showed similar wear rates.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.