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Microplastic on our plate, also in our shops…
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Belgian researchers investigated whether microplastics are actually present in wild and farmed bivalves under field conditions, rather than only at the unrealistically high concentrations used in lab studies. They found microplastics in both wild and cultured mussels and oysters, providing the first direct evidence that these seafood species accumulate microplastics at environmentally relevant levels.
M icroplastics are present th ro u g h o u t the marine environm ent, and ingestion o f these small (<1 mm) plastic particles has been dem onstrated repeatedly in a laboratory setting fo r a wide array o f marine (invertebrate) organism s.However, as the exposure concentrations o f m icroplastics in these types o f experim ents are much higher (over a thousand tim es higher) than any reported field concentration, it is d iffic u lt to assess the relevance o f these results fo r natural environm ents.Therefore, we assessed the presence o f m icroplastics in tw o bivalve species living in natural conditions: both field collected and cultured individuals o f M ytilus edulis, and farm ed Crassostrea gigas were investigated.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics in bivalves cultured for human consumption
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Researchers examined two commercially farmed bivalve species, mussels and oysters, and found microplastics in the edible tissues of both. Mussels contained an average of 0.36 particles per gram of tissue, while oysters had 0.47 particles per gram. Since these shellfish are consumed whole without removing the gut, the study suggests they represent a direct pathway for human ingestion of microplastics.
Exploring microplastics in commercial bivalve species and in bivalve aquaculture waters: Insights from the southern Pacific
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Microplastics were detected in multiple commercially sold bivalve species (such as mussels and oysters) and in nearby inland and coastal waters. Because bivalves are widely eaten by humans, the findings raise direct concerns about microplastic dietary exposure through seafood consumption.
Plastics on the Half Shell
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Researchers found that people who regularly eat oysters, mussels, and other bivalves may be consuming thousands of microplastic particles annually, based on Belgian studies measuring microplastics in commercially farmed shellfish. The findings provided the first direct evidence that microplastics enter the human diet through seafood consumption.
Microplastic contamination in filter-feeding bivalves inhabiting the natural ecosystem of Da Nang Bay: An investigation of oysters (Ostrea rivularis) and green mussels (Perna viridis)
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Researchers found microplastics in 100% of examined oysters and green mussels from Da Nang Bay, Vietnam, with average densities of 3.5 items per gram of tissue, exceeding average contamination levels seen in seafood across Asia. Mussels showed considerably higher MP accumulation than oysters, with black plastic particles under 0.5 mm in fibrous form being the dominant type found.
Measuring microplastics in seafood
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Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in five types of commercially sold seafood and found widespread contamination across oysters, prawns, crabs, squid, and sardines. The study provides some of the first data on how much plastic people may be ingesting through seafood consumption.
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.