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Microplastics in food commodities
Summary
This review summarized evidence for microplastic and nanoplastic contamination across major food commodities including seafood, drinking water, salt, beer, and packaged foods. Human dietary exposure was identified as a primary route of microplastic intake, with health risks remaining uncertain but warranting precautionary action.
The contamination of the environment with whole plastics or pieces thereof (microand nanoplastics) is the subject of extensive discussion nowadays in academia and the media. In addition to environmental matrices, micro- and nanoplastics have been detected in fishery products and other important food commodities, with concerns over their impact on human health. Food consumption is considered one of most significant routes of human exposure to these small plastic particles. Such concerns may arise not only from the exposure to reactive monomers in the otherwise biologically inert polymer structure, but also from their associated contaminants. Many studies have reported neurotoxicity, oxidative stress and immunotoxicity among the main consequences of exposure to micro- and nanoplastics. This document outlines the existing literature on the occurrence of microplastics and their associated contaminants in foods. It estimates the dietary exposure of consumers to these materials, highlights some knowledge gaps with respect to their relevance to public health, and offers some recommendations for future work on microplastic particles to support food safety governance.