Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on Livestock: Sources, Exposure Pathways, and Physiological Consequences

This review examined how microplastics enter livestock systems through contaminated soil, water, and feed, and assessed the resulting risks to animal health, food safety, and agricultural sustainability. The review highlights that livestock exposure pathways are numerous and that microplastic contamination of the food chain is a growing concern.

2024 Journal Of Advanced Zoology
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastic contamination in livestock production: Entry pathways, potential effects and analytical challenges

This review evaluates how micro- and nanoplastics enter livestock production systems through plastic mulching, waste fragmentation, and water runoff. The study suggests that these plastic particles can accumulate in livestock animals and potentially transfer up the food chain, though standardized analytical methods and comprehensive studies on livestock health effects are still lacking.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 55 citations
Review Tier 2

The sources and impact of microplastic intake on livestock and poultry performance and meat products: a review

This review examined how microplastics affect livestock and poultry health, productivity, and the safety of meat products. Researchers found that while lab experiments show microplastics can cause oxidative stress and inflammation at high concentrations, it remains unclear whether typical environmental exposure levels affect animal welfare or productivity. Microplastics were detected in animal tissues at levels that raise potential consumer safety concerns, though current detection methods are prone to contamination.

2025 Animal Production Science 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review of microplastic pollution in breeding industry: Sources, distribution, impacts, and characterization techniques, mitigation strategies and future research directions

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in the breeding and livestock industry, covering sources, distribution patterns, and potential impacts on animal and human health through the food chain. Researchers identified key gaps in current understanding of how microplastics move through farming environments and accumulate in livestock. The study calls for more systematic research to help the industry develop strategies for preventing microplastic contamination.

2024 Chemosphere 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Connecting the Dots: Livestock Animals as Missing Links in the Chain of Microplastic Contamination and Human Health

This review highlights that farm animals are a missing link in understanding how microplastics move from contaminated soil and plants into the human food supply. Livestock can accumulate inhaled and ingested plastic particles, which may then transfer to people through meat, milk, and eggs. The authors call for standardized methods to measure microplastics in animal products to better understand this exposure pathway.

2024 Animals 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Animal Health and Nutrition

This review summarizes the current understanding of how microplastic ingestion affects animal health across multiple species including livestock, poultry, and aquatic organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of gut function in animals, with smaller particles posing greater risks due to their ability to cross biological barriers. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in feed and water sources is an emerging concern for animal agriculture and nutrition.

2024 Erciyes Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Livestock Health: An Emerging Risk for Reproductive Efficiency

This review summarizes the growing evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics harm livestock reproductive systems through oxidative stress, hormone disruption, and organ damage. Farm animals are particularly important because contaminants in their bodies can transfer to humans through meat, milk, and eggs. The review warns that microplastic accumulation in livestock could create a hidden food safety risk through biological amplification up the food chain.

2023 Animals 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Farmed Animals—A Review

This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination in farmed animals including fish, cattle, and poultry, finding that microplastics have been detected in their intestines, liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive organs. The particles disrupt gut bacteria, cause tissue damage, and carry toxic chemicals and pathogens. Since these animals are raised for human consumption, microplastics in livestock represent a direct pathway for plastic contamination to reach people through their diet.

2024 Microplastics 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Animal Health and Nutrition Year 2024, Volume: 21 Issue: 2, 72 - 77, 02.08.2024

This review examined the effects of microplastics on animal health and nutrition, summarizing experimental evidence across livestock, poultry, and aquaculture species and identifying pathways by which dietary plastic exposure affects growth and feed efficiency.

2024 Erciyes University - AVESIS
Article Tier 2

Vědecký článek Jimp1

This review summarized current knowledge about microplastics in animal nutrition, covering their occurrence in feed ingredients and water, routes of exposure in livestock and poultry, and potential physiological and metabolic effects on animal health.

2025 Open MIND
Article Tier 2

From farm to fork: Microplastic contamination in the meat and dairy supply chain

This review evaluated the prevalence, pathways, and risks of microplastic contamination in meat and dairy products across the supply chain. Researchers found persistent microplastic presence in livestock tissues, poultry organs, processed meats, raw milk, and commercial dairy products, with common polymers including polyethylene and polypropylene, raising concerns about food safety from farm to fork.

2026 Current Research in Food Science
Article Tier 2

Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Microplastics in Drinking Water, Raw Materials, and Animal Feed Additives

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in drinking water, feed ingredients, and complete diets at two dairy farms in Iran. The study found large numbers of microplastics of varying sizes and colors in feedstuffs, estimating that each cow ingests over 5,000 microplastic particles daily through their feed, raising concerns about potential transfer through the food chain.

2026 Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Article Tier 2

Developing Methods to Detect Microplastic Contamination in Livestock Feed: Implications for Sustainable Animal Husbandry

Researchers developed and validated methods to detect microplastics in livestock feed as part of a Croatia-Serbia INTERREG project, identifying several polymer types in feed samples and raising concerns about microplastic entry into the food chain through animal agriculture.

2025 RIStocar (Institute of Animal Husbandry)
Review Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in livestock farming in Bangladesh: a critical review of its key findings and mitigation strategies to address public health

This review synthesized research on microplastic pollution in livestock farming in Bangladesh, where unplanned farming practices contribute to contamination. Researchers found that microplastics enter animal feed, water, and soil, potentially affecting animal health, productivity, and the safety of animal-derived food products. The study recommends improved waste management, better farming practices, and further research to protect both public health and the livestock industry.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Animal exposure to microplastics and health effects: A review

Researchers reviewed how microplastic exposure affects animals across terrestrial and aquatic environments, finding that species suffer physical harm, chemical contamination from pollutants that stick to plastic surfaces, inflammation, and behavioral changes. Because microplastics accumulate up the food chain, the review warns that animals entering the human food supply may carry these particles into our bodies.

2024 Emerging contaminants 117 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in the farm animal derived food chain: The silent contaminants from farm to fork

Researchers reviewed five years of studies on microplastic contamination in animal-derived foods — including milk, meat, and eggs — finding that plastics enter livestock through ingestion and breathing, then end up in products consumed by humans. Once ingested, plastic particles can damage cell structures including mitochondria and the nucleus, potentially disrupting the digestive, reproductive, and nervous systems.

2025 Indian Journal of Animal Health
Article Tier 2

The Environmental Pathways and Veterinary Health Implications of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Emerging Contaminants from a One Health Perspective

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics enter animal-based food products including milk, poultry meat, and eggs, and what this means for both veterinary and human health from a One Health perspective. Researchers found that these particles have been documented in various livestock products, but significant gaps remain in understanding contamination from raw, unprocessed sources. The study emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods and farm-to-fork monitoring to identify real contamination sources and develop effective control strategies.

2026 Veterinary Sciences
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in manure: Sources, analytical methods, toxicodynamic, and toxicokinetic endpoints in livestock and poultry

Researchers reviewed the occurrence of microplastics in livestock and poultry manure, finding hundreds to thousands of particles per kilogram depending on the animal, with plastic-contaminated feed and mulching films as the primary sources. Because manure is widely spread on farmland as fertilizer, it represents a significant — and underappreciated — pathway for microplastics to enter agricultural soils and ultimately the food chain.

2023 Environmental Advances 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Vědecký článek Jimp2

This review summarizes current knowledge about microplastics in animal nutrition, covering their occurrence in feed ingredients and water, routes of exposure, and potential effects on animal physiology and metabolism. It identifies significant knowledge gaps about long-term dietary MP exposure effects on livestock and other farmed animals.

2025 OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Pollution as an Invisible Potential Threat to Food Safety and Security, Policy Challenges and the Way Forward

This review synthesized studies from 1999 to 2020 on microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and human food products, documenting toxic effects from animal studies and identifying major policy gaps in plastic use and disposal regulation, particularly regarding human health risk assessment.

2020 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 95 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity Mechanisms of Microplastic and Its Effects on Ruminant Production: A Review

This review summarizes how microplastics enter ruminant animals like cattle and sheep through contaminated feed, water, and grazing on plastic-polluted land, and the health problems they cause. Microplastics can damage the gut lining, disrupt the rumen microbiome, cause inflammation, and impair nutrient absorption in livestock. Since ruminants are a major source of meat and dairy products, microplastic contamination in livestock raises questions about potential transfer to humans through the food chain.

2025 Biomolecules 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels

This review examines how farm animals and pets are exposed to microplastics, and what that means for human health. Livestock can accumulate microplastics in their tissues during their lifetime and from processing equipment, meaning meat and dairy products may contain plastic particles. Pets like cats and dogs, who share our living spaces, could serve as early warning indicators for the levels of microplastic exposure that humans face at home.

2023 Animals 89 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Far‐Reaching Impact of Microplastics on Agricultural Systems: Options for Mitigation and Adaptation

This systematic review examines how microplastics affect agricultural systems, from soil health and crop growth to farm animals and the food consumers eat. The research highlights that microplastic contamination in farming is widespread and may pose risks throughout the food supply chain, making it a concern for anyone who eats conventionally grown food.

2025 Land Degradation and Development 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastic on rumen metabolism.

This review examines how microplastics and plastic additives including bisphenols and phthalates accumulate in water, soil, and animal feed and transfer into animal products such as milk, meat, and eggs, raising food safety concerns. The authors discuss microplastics as disruptors of rumen metabolism in livestock.

2024 Florence Research (University of Florence)