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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastic Contamination in Commercial Insect Meal: A Valid Analytical Method to Detect It
ClearDetection of Microplastic Contamination in Commercial Insect Meals
Researchers analyzed commercial insect meal products used in aquaculture feed and found microplastic contamination in all samples tested. Using specialized detection methods, they identified various polymer types including polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester within the insect-based feed. The findings raise questions about whether insect farming, promoted as a sustainable protein source, may inadvertently introduce microplastics into the aquaculture food chain.
Methods for the identification and quantification of microplastics in foods (a review)
This review examined analytical methods for identifying and quantifying microplastics in food, finding that standardized, sensitive techniques are urgently needed to accurately assess human dietary exposure to these emerging contaminants.
Safety of packaging material in insect feed
This study examines the safety of packaging materials used in insect feed production, assessing potential contamination risks including microplastic transfer within insect rearing systems that use food-grade packaging as part of circular waste-stream initiatives.
Plastics in biota: technological readiness level of current methodologies
Researchers evaluated the scientific readiness of current laboratory methods for detecting and measuring plastic particles inside living organisms — from fish to insects — identifying which techniques are reproducible enough to be used in standardized environmental monitoring programs. Harmonizing these methods is critical for generating consistent, comparable data on how plastics accumulate across food webs.
Microplastics contamination in commercial fish meal and feed: a major concern in the cultured organisms
Researchers analyzed commercial fish meal and animal feed samples and found microplastics in all of them, with fish meal containing up to 1,154 particles per kilogram. The contaminated feed is given to farmed fish, shrimp, and chicken, creating a pathway for microplastics to reach humans through the food supply. Feed made from dried fish had higher contamination levels than feed from fresh fish, and the microplastics also carried toxic heavy metals.
Retention and excretion of microplastics by Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae reared on an amino formaldehyde polymer microbeads contaminated substrate
This study examined whether yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) retain or excrete microplastics when raised on contaminated substrates, which is important since mealworms are increasingly used as a food and feed source. Results showed larvae ingested and partially excreted microplastics, raising questions about microplastic accumulation in the food chain through insect-based protein products.
Methods for separating and extracting microplastics from food systems
This review examines methods for separating and extracting microplastics from food systems, addressing the challenge that inadequate collection and analysis methods have hindered accurate assessment of microplastic contamination in the food supply. The authors evaluate digestion, filtration, and spectroscopic identification protocols and identify best practices for standardizing microplastic analysis in diverse food matrices.
Is turning food waste into insect feed an uphill climb? A review of persistent challenges
This review examines the persistent challenges in using food waste as insect feed at commercial scale, including regulatory barriers, contamination risks from microplastics and other pollutants, and variability in waste feedstock composition.
Microplastics in food - a critical approach to definition, sample preparation, and characterisation
This review critically examines how microplastics in food are defined, extracted, and analyzed across different studies, finding significant inconsistencies that make it hard to compare results. The lack of standardized methods for isolating and identifying microplastics in food means that contamination levels may be over- or underestimated. The authors call for unified research methods to enable credible assessments of how dietary microplastic exposure affects health.
Unveiling Fragmentation of Plastic Particles during Biodegradation of Polystyrene and Polyethylene Foams in Mealworms: Highly Sensitive Detection and Digestive Modeling Prediction
Researchers discovered that mealworms biodegrading polystyrene and polyethylene foams generate micro- and nanoplastic fragments during the digestion process, despite removing over 70% of the ingested plastic. The study developed a digestive biofragmentation model to predict plastic fragmentation patterns, suggesting that insect-based plastic biodegradation may create secondary contamination that warrants further assessment.
Microplastics occurrence, detection and removal with emphasis on insect larvae gut microbiota
This review covers the sources, detection methods, and toxic effects of microplastics across ecosystems, with a special focus on insect larvae gut microbiota as a biological degradation tool. Researchers found that certain insect larvae, such as mealworms and waxworms, harbor gut bacteria capable of breaking down plastic polymers. The study highlights biological degradation by insect-associated microbes as a promising avenue for microplastic remediation.
Quality Criteria for the Analysis of Microplastic in Biota Samples: A Critical Review
Ten quality criteria were applied to review recent microplastic ingestion studies in aquatic biota, finding wide variation in methodological rigor including inadequate sample sizes, poor contamination controls, and inconsistent polymer identification methods. The authors propose a standardized quality assessment framework to improve comparability of microplastic ingestion data across studies.
Occurrence of microplastics in edible aquatic insect Pantala sp. (Odonata: Libellulidae) from rice fields
Researchers detected microplastics in edible dragonfly larvae collected from rice fields, finding an average of 1.34 particles per individual with fragments being the most common type, raising concerns about microplastic transfer through insect-based food chains.
The development and application of advanced analytical methods in microplastics contamination detection: A critical review
This review evaluated advanced analytical methods for detecting microplastic contamination, covering techniques from visual identification and spectroscopy to emerging approaches, and highlighted the need for standardized, efficient methods to improve environmental monitoring.
Innovative reference materials for method validation in microplastic analysis including interlaboratory comparison exercises
Researchers developed innovative reference materials for validating microplastic analysis methods, presenting interlaboratory comparison results that support quality assurance and standardization in the growing field of microplastic detection.
A new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments
Researchers developed a new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics specifically in marine sediments, improving extraction and identification steps to enable more reliable and standardized environmental monitoring of seafloor contamination.
Validation of multi-step analytical protocols for microplastics detection in lipid-rich matrices
This study developed and validated multi-step analytical protocols for detecting microplastics in lipid-rich food matrices, which require complex pretreatment steps that can compromise particle integrity. The validated method improved accuracy and reliability for microplastic detection in challenging food samples.
Recent advances in the analysis methodologies for microplastics in aquatic organisms: current knowledge and research challenges
This review examines recent advances in analytical methods for detecting and quantifying microplastics in aquatic organisms, identifying key sources of variability across studies and outlining research challenges needed to improve comparability and standardization.
Extraction and detection methods of microplastics in food and marine systems: A critical review
This critical review evaluates the various methods used to extract and detect microplastics in food and marine samples, from sample preparation to analytical identification. Researchers found significant inconsistencies across studies in how microplastics are separated, quantified, and characterized, making it difficult to compare results. The study calls for standardized protocols to enable more reliable assessments of microplastic contamination in food and the environment.
Microplastics in seafood: Benchmark protocol for their extraction and characterization
Researchers developed a benchmark protocol for extracting and characterizing microplastics from seafood samples, providing standardized methods to improve consistency and comparability across studies measuring human dietary exposure.
Microplastics, an Emerging Concern: A Review of Analytical Techniques for Detecting and Quantifying Microplatics
This review surveyed analytical methods for detecting and quantifying microplastics published from 2000 to 2018, covering visual identification, spectroscopic, and pyrolysis-based techniques across environmental, food, and biological matrices. The authors identify the lack of standardized methods as a major barrier to generating comparable data on microplastic prevalence and health implications.
[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.
Sampling, Isolating and Identifying Microplastics Ingested by Fish and Invertebrates *
This methodological review critically evaluated sampling, isolation, and identification techniques for microplastics ingested by fish and invertebrates, identifying common sources of error including contamination during processing, particle loss, and misidentification — and recommending standardized protocols.
Impact of heavy metals, microplastics, and food pathogens on black soldier fly larvae
Researchers fed black soldier fly larvae substrates contaminated with heavy metals, microplastics, and food pathogens to evaluate tolerance and bioconversion efficiency, finding that certain contaminants reduced larval performance and bioconversion rates with implications for insect-based waste recycling.