Papers

20 results
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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

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
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

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

Food Contamination with Micro-plastics: Occurrences, Bioavailability,Human Vulnerability, and Prevention

The study reviews the occurrence, bioavailability, and potential health impacts of microplastics in food, noting that contamination has been detected in foodstuffs and beverages worldwide. Researchers highlight that current data on dietary microplastic exposure remains insufficient for comprehensive risk assessment, and call for standardized methodologies to better evaluate the threat to human health.

2023 Current Nutrition & Food Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Microplastics on the Global Food Industry: A Brief Overview of This Extremely Diverse and Complex Sector

This review examines how microplastic contamination threatens every sector of the global food industry, from agricultural soils and irrigation water to livestock feed and seafood. Because microplastics adsorb toxic chemicals and can transfer through the food chain into human tissue, the authors argue that food safety frameworks urgently need to incorporate microplastic monitoring and mitigation strategies.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on micro and nano plastics: A rising concern as food contaminants

This review examined micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) as rising food contaminants, reporting concentrations up to 1.7 million particles/km² in some ocean regions and documenting how MNPs enter food chains through water, seafood, packaging, and food processing—posing risks to food safety and human health.

2025 International Journal of Applied Research
Article Tier 2

Influence of Micro and Nanoplastics in Modern Food Chain: an Inevitable Intervention

This review examines the growing presence of microplastics and nanoplastics throughout the modern food chain, summarizing known entry points, concentrations in food commodities, and potential health consequences of regular human dietary exposure.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an emerging contaminant of concern to our environment: a brief overview of the sources and implications

This overview describes how microplastics have become a widespread environmental contaminant found in water, soil, air, and living organisms. Beyond being pollutants themselves, microplastics can carry other toxic substances and even antibiotic-resistant bacteria, amplifying their health risks. The authors emphasize that microplastic exposure through food, water, and air poses a significant and underappreciated threat to human health.

2023 Bioengineered 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Discovery and solution for microplastics: New risk carriers in food

This review summarizes the current state of microplastic contamination in food, covering which foods are affected, how to detect microplastics, and how to break them down. Microplastics accumulate through the food chain and have been confirmed in many everyday foods, posing serious health risks. The authors call for standardized detection methods and national policies to monitor and reduce microplastic contamination in the food supply.

2025 Food Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics a Hidden Threat in our Food and Water Supply

Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — enter ecosystems through runoff, wastewater, and air, and accumulate in both aquatic and land organisms, threatening biodiversity and human health through the food chain. The review also highlights monitoring technologies and the importance of strong governance to address this growing global contamination problem.

2025
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nano-plastic contamination in foods and potential risk to human health

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about micro- and nanoplastic contamination in food, covering sources, occurrence, and analytical detection methods. Researchers found that while various foods, especially seafood, contain measurable levels of microplastics, the health risks to humans remain difficult to assess due to inconsistent research methods. The study calls for standardized approaches to better evaluate dietary exposure and potential health impacts.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Food Contamination by Microplastics and Human Health Implications

This review examines how food is contaminated by microplastics throughout the supply chain — from agricultural soil and irrigation water to food processing and packaging — and evaluates the health implications for human consumers. The authors estimate dietary microplastic intake across food categories and identify seafood, drinking water, and packaged foods as the highest-exposure routes.

2024 Food Safety
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: an emerging threat to food security and human health

This review examines the growing body of evidence showing that microplastics are present in seafood and other food products worldwide, making human dietary exposure virtually unavoidable. Researchers summarize the potential risks to food security and human health from ingesting microplastics and the chemical contaminants they carry. The study identifies significant research gaps and calls for more work on monitoring and eliminating microplastics throughout the food supply chain.

2019 Journal of Food Science and Technology 437 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Food

This review summarized the current evidence on microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in food, covering their sources, analytical detection methods, and potential health implications for consumers. The paper highlighted the rapid growth in food contamination data and the ongoing uncertainties about human dietary exposure levels and health risks.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential risk assessment and toxicological impacts of nano/micro-plastics on human health through food products

This review examined the potential risks and toxicological effects of nano- and microplastics on human health through food products, identifying key contamination sources in the food chain and their harmful impacts on the body.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research 12 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Are Microplastics a Macro Issue? A Review on the Sources of Contamination, Analytical Challenges and Impact on Human Health of Microplastics in Food

This systematic review examines how microplastics enter the human food supply and what health effects they may cause. The research found microplastics in a wide range of foods, but major inconsistencies in testing methods make it difficult to determine true contamination levels. While the full health impact remains unclear, the evidence suggests that microplastic exposure through food is widespread and warrants further study.

2023 Foods 14 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Emerging Contaminants in Food

This systematic review focuses on microplastics and nanoplastics as emerging contaminants in our food supply. These tiny particles enter food through packaging, processing, and environmental contamination. Current detection methods are still limited, making it difficult to fully measure how much plastic we are eating — highlighting the need for better testing to protect food safety.

2021 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 177 citations
Article Tier 2

Uncovering the hidden risks of microplastics in the food chain

This review highlights how microplastics in the food chain serve as surfaces for microbial colonization, potentially acting as vehicles that transfer harmful pathogens through seafood, produce, and food processing environments. The authors argue that current food safety standards are inadequate to address this microplastic-driven microbial risk and that urgent regulatory and research action is needed.

2026 Trends in Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Health implications of microplastic exposure and sustainable solutions

This review explores the various pathways by which microplastics contaminate aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through human activities, and how they accumulate in the food chain. Researchers summarize the health implications of microplastic exposure through mechanisms like oxidative stress, gut microbiome disruption, and inflammation. The study emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods and stronger regulatory frameworks to address microplastic contamination in the human food supply.

2026 Environmental Sciences Europe