Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Global Insights into Cultured Meat: Uncovering Production Processes, Potential Hazards, Regulatory Frameworks, and Key Challenges—A Scoping Review

This review examines the production process and potential health hazards of lab-grown cultured meat, including contamination risks from microplastics in growth media and packaging materials. The findings suggest that while cultured meat may reduce some environmental impacts of traditional farming, new food safety risks including microplastic contamination need careful regulation.

2025 Foods 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Cell‐based food needs collaborative efforts for safe production and suitable consumption

Not relevant to microplastics — this commentary discusses the safety, regulatory, and consumer acceptance challenges surrounding cell-based (lab-grown) food production.

2023 Food Safety and Health 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancing food safety and cultivated meat production: exploring the impact of microplastics on fish muscle cell proliferation and differentiation

Researchers investigated how microplastic contamination affects fish muscle cells used in cultivated meat production. They found that polystyrene microplastics impaired the ability of fish cells to grow and develop into muscle tissue, even at relatively low concentrations. The findings raise concerns about microplastic interference in both lab-grown seafood production and the safety of sourcing cells from marine organisms already exposed to plastic pollution.

2024 Frontiers in Food Science and Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Cutting-Edge Technologies of Meat Analogs: A Review

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it reviews technologies for producing meat analogs including cultured meat and insect-derived proteins, with no connection to plastic pollution or microplastic contamination.

2024 Food Science of Animal Resources 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the Impact of Microplastics on Fish Muscle Cell Proliferation and Differentiation: Enhancing Food Safety in Cultivated Meat Production

Researchers exposed Atlantic mackerel muscle cells to polyethylene microspheres at concentrations representative of environmental contamination and found that microplastics significantly impaired cell attachment and proliferation, particularly at 10 µg/mL. The findings matter for the growing cultivated meat industry, which sources cells from marine species already exposed to microplastics, raising food safety questions.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

НОВІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ. ШТУЧНЕ М’ЯСО, ЯК НОВЕ ДЖЕРЕЛО БІЛКОВИХ ПРОДУКТІВ У ХАРЧУВАННІ СУЧАСНОЇ ЛЮДИНИ

This Ukrainian article discusses cultured meat production technologies as a potential protein source to reduce pressure on traditional animal agriculture. The paper is focused on food technology and is unrelated to microplastic research.

2023 Journal of Chemistry and Technologies 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Cell-cultivated aquatic food products: emerging production systems for seafood

This review examines cell-cultivated seafood, a new approach to producing fish protein by growing fish cells in a lab rather than catching or farming fish. One potential benefit is avoiding the microplastic contamination found in wild and farmed fish, since the production environment can be controlled. As concerns grow about microplastics accumulating in seafood, lab-grown alternatives could offer a way to reduce human exposure to microplastics through diet.

2024 Journal of Biological Engineering 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as a Threat to Meat Consumption, Review

This review highlights how plastic packaging in the meat industry introduces microplastics and chemical additives directly into food, posing underappreciated health risks for consumers. The authors call for better labeling, education, and stricter regulation of plastics used in meat preservation so that people can make informed choices about their exposure.

2023 Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Safety Issues in the Development of Cell-Cultured Meat

This review examines safety issues in the development of cell-cultured meat as an alternative to conventional animal husbandry, identifying unresolved concerns around food safety, production scalability, and regulatory approval that must be addressed before commercial deployment.

2025 Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Emerging Food Contaminants: A Challenge for Food Safety

This review examines microplastics as an emerging contaminant in the food supply, covering how they enter the food chain, their characteristics, and the challenges of assessing their health risks. Researchers found that while microplastics have been detected in a wide range of food products, current scientific data is insufficient to complete a thorough risk assessment of dietary exposure. The study calls for standardized detection methods and more research to establish safe exposure thresholds for microplastics in food.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Cultured meat in the European Union: Legislative context and food safety issues

Researchers review the regulatory and food safety landscape for cultured meat — animal protein grown from cells in a lab rather than slaughtered animals — within the European Union's precautionary approval framework. While cultured meat could reduce agriculture's enormous carbon footprint and help feed a projected 9–11 billion people by 2050, concerns about production safety, texture, nutrition, and consumer acceptance still need to be resolved.

2024 Current Research in Food Science 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastics in commercial meat: a comparison between raw and processed products

Researchers compared microplastic contamination in raw versus processed commercial meats, finding that processing steps can introduce or increase microplastic levels. The study highlights food processing as an underappreciated pathway for microplastic exposure in terrestrial animal products.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Emerging Threat of Food Contamination by Microplastics and its Influence on Safety and Human Perspective

Researchers reviewed how widespread plastic use across industry has made microplastic contamination of food a serious public health concern, with particles entering the food supply through environmental pathways including runoff, wastewater, and air. Addressing this threat requires tighter regulations, better food supply monitoring, and public education on exposure risks.

2025 International Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering
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

Assessment of microplastics in commercial meat: a comparison between raw and processed products

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in commercial meat products, comparing raw and processed forms to assess human dietary exposure. Microplastic particles were detected across multiple meat types, with processing steps influencing both the concentration and type of particles present.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Advice from BuRO on the public health risks associated with offering cultured meat at tastings

This advisory report from BuRO (the Netherlands) assessed public health risks associated with cultured meat produced for controlled tastings under a national procedure that bypasses standard EU novel food authorization. The report evaluated microplastic, allergen, and microbial risks in cultured meat production environments and provided risk management recommendations.

2025 Food Risk Assess Europe
Article Tier 2

Presence of Microplastics in Livestock Production: A Challenge for Animal Health and Sustainability

This review examines microplastic contamination in livestock production systems, summarizing evidence of microplastic presence in feed, water, and animal tissues, and discussing implications for animal health, food safety, and sustainability.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in human food chains: Food becoming a threat to health safety

This review traces how microplastics enter the human food chain through both animal and plant sources, food packaging, and beverages. Once consumed, microplastics can accumulate in tissues and release harmful chemicals like plasticizers and heavy metals inside the body. The study emphasizes that food has become a major exposure pathway for microplastics and calls for stricter regulation of plastic use in food production and packaging.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 542 citations
Article Tier 2

Regulatory Science Perspective on the Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Human Food

This paper from a regulatory science perspective highlights that current methods for detecting and measuring microplastics and nanoplastics in food are not yet reliable enough for formal food safety assessments. There is a lack of standardized definitions, reference materials, and validated analytical methods, especially for nanoplastics. Until these gaps are addressed, it will be difficult for food safety agencies to accurately determine how much plastic contamination people are consuming and whether it poses a health risk.

2024 Analytical Chemistry 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and ecological impact of microplastics in aquaculture ecosystems

This review examines microplastic contamination specifically within aquaculture systems, which are an increasingly important source of protein for human diets worldwide. Researchers found that aquaculture environments accumulate microplastics from external sources like land-based waste and shipping, as well as from the plastic gear, equipment, and feed used in farming operations. The study raises concerns about food safety, as microplastics in farmed seafood represent a direct pathway of human exposure.

2021 Chemosphere 245 citations
Review Tier 2

[Review of Methods and Risk Assessment of Microplastics from Food Sources].

This review examines methods for detecting and assessing the risks of microplastic contamination in food, covering exposure pathways from raw materials through processing and packaging. Researchers summarized analytical techniques for identifying microplastics in food products and evaluated approaches for assessing human health risks from dietary exposure. The study emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods and more comprehensive risk assessment frameworks for food-borne microplastics.

2025 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Cultured Meat Be an Alternative to Farm Animal Production for a Sustainable and Healthier Lifestyle?

This review examines whether cultured meat, grown from cells in a bioreactor rather than raised on farms, could serve as a more sustainable alternative to conventional animal agriculture. Researchers found potential benefits including reduced land use and pollution, but noted that the energy required for cultured meat production could be higher due to replacing biological functions with technological processes.

2021 Frontiers in Nutrition 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Food Products

This chapter reviews microplastic contamination in food products, tracing the pathways by which plastic particles enter the food supply from environmental contamination, packaging leaching, and food processing. The authors discuss health concerns associated with dietary microplastic exposure and the regulatory landscape around food safety.

2024