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Presence of microplastics in commercial canned tuna
Summary
Synthetic microparticles were found in four commercial canned tuna brands sold in Ecuador, present in both water-packed and oil-packed products. The detection of microplastics in a widely consumed processed seafood product raises direct concerns about dietary exposure through the food supply chain.
The present study aims to determine the presence of synthetic polymeric microparticles (MPs) in samples of canned tuna. An analysis procedure of these microparticles was developed and tested. Four brands of tuna marketed in Ecuador canned both in water and oil were analysed. A significant presence of MPs was found: 692 ± 120 MPs/100 g of tuna in water and 442 ± 84 MPs/100 g of tuna in oil. Random samples of the liquid covering the tuna fish in the cans showed 6 MPs/mL in the case of water and 5 MPs/mL in the case of oil-containing samples. A total of 90% of the reported particles presented a size range of 1-50 µm. The number of MPs present in canned tuna suggests that the ingredients and inputs of the canning process greatly contribute to micro polymers. The identification of the microparticles using fluorescence and micro-FTIR spectrometry revealed that PET, polystyrene and nylon were the most frequent MPs present in the samples analysed.