Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Hazardous chemicals in recycled and reusable plastic food packaging

This study examines how recycling and reusing plastics for food packaging can introduce hazardous chemicals, including endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, into food. Recycling concentrates chemical contaminants from previous uses, while reusable containers can leach harmful substances over repeated wash cycles. The findings highlight a tension between reducing plastic waste and ensuring food contact materials remain safe for human health.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental and health hazards of chemicals in plastic polymers and products

Researchers reviewed the environmental and health hazards of chemicals in plastic polymers and products, examining the toxicological profiles of monomers, additives, and degradation products that can leach from plastics into food, water, and the environment. The study identifies numerous plastic-associated chemicals with endocrine-disrupting, carcinogenic, or developmental toxicity potential and calls for more comprehensive safety testing of plastic formulations.

2011 Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University) 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of plastic consumer products: a biological, chemical and social-ecological analysis

This study analyzed the toxic chemicals found in consumer plastic products, including additives, monomers, and processing by-products that can leach into food or the environment. The findings highlight that plastic toxicity extends beyond microplastic particles themselves — the chemicals embedded in plastics pose significant health risks through food packaging and environmental contamination.

2021
Article Tier 2

Review of Recent Issues in Food Safety of Packaging Materials : Regulatory Concerns and Scientific Findings

This review examines recent food safety concerns related to packaging materials, focusing on the migration of chemicals like bisphenol A, phthalates, and PVC from packaging into food, as well as microplastic ingestion risks. Researchers found that while major regulatory bodies have strengthened controls, regional differences in regulations and emerging technologies like biodegradable plastics and nanomaterials introduce new safety questions. The study highlights the need for continued scientific research into how packaging chemicals affect the endocrine system and human health.

2025 KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in food packaging: Analytical methods, health risks, and sustainable alternatives

This review examines how microplastics from food packaging materials can migrate into the food we eat during storage and handling. It evaluates analytical methods for detecting this contamination and suggests biodegradable polymers as promising eco-friendly alternatives, while noting that standardized testing methods and risk assessment frameworks are still needed.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of meso/micro/nano plastics and plastic additives in food from food packaging.

This chapter reviewed the contamination of food by plastics from packaging materials, examining migration mechanisms for meso-, micro-, and nano-plastics and plastic additives, and discussing how food type, packaging material, and processing conditions influence contamination levels under current regulatory frameworks.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research
Article Tier 2

From packaging to plate: Environmental pollution and human exposure pathways of plastic-derived contaminants

This review synthesizes evidence on how plastic food packaging contributes to environmental pollution and human exposure to microplastics, nanoplastics, and chemical additives. The study highlights that packaging-derived contaminants enter the body through contaminated seafood and direct contact, and that microplastics can serve as ecological niches for microbial biofilms that harbor pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.

2025 Food Bioscience 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic materials used in the food industry, their influence on health, and potential solutions

This review examines how plastics used in food packaging gradually degrade into microplastics that leach into food and beverages, posing potential health risks to consumers. It surveys the main plastic types used in the food industry, the health concerns associated with microplastic and additive exposure, and proposed solutions including biodegradable alternatives. The findings underscore that everyday food packaging is a significant and underappreciated source of microplastic exposure for the general public.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Systematic Review: Migration of Chemical Compounds from Plastic Material Containers in Food and Pharmaceutical Fields

This systematic review examines how chemical compounds migrate from plastic containers into food and pharmaceutical products. The findings highlight that chemicals like phthalates, bisphenol A, and other additives can leach into what we eat and drink, especially under heat or extended storage, raising concerns about long-term health effects from daily exposure to food packaging.

2025 Journal of Xenobiotics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Litter Plastics and Microplastics and Their Toxic Chemicals Components

This review examined the chemical hazards posed by marine plastic litter and microplastics, focusing on persistent organic pollutants, flame retardants, plasticisers, and endocrine-disrupting additives that can leach from plastic polymers into marine food webs. The authors concluded that both the physical and chemical toxicity of marine plastics represent a serious and undercharacterised threat to biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and human health via seafood consumption.

2020 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Food Safety, Plastics and Sustainability

This book covers the use of plastics in food safety applications, including migration of substances from packaging into food, microplastic impacts on humans and the environment, regulations, testing methods, food packaging materials, and identification and recycling approaches.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The Toxicity of Plastics

This review synthesized over 200 studies on plastic toxicity, examining the physical, chemical, and biological threats posed by macro- and microplastics to ecosystems and human health, including their ability to cross biological barriers and carry chemical contaminants.

2023 IntechOpen eBooks 4 citations
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

Nanoplastics in heat-sensitive food packaging: A review of migration, detection, health, and environmental impacts

This review examines how heating food in plastic packaging causes micro and nanoplastics to migrate into food, covering the mechanisms of release, detection methods, and health concerns. Heat accelerates the breakdown of plastic packaging, releasing particles and chemical additives that can be consumed along with the food. The authors highlight the need for stronger regulations and safer packaging alternatives to reduce human exposure to plastics through heated food.

2024 Food Control 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Source, migration path and pollution of microplastics and nano-plastics in food

This review traced the sources, migration pathways, and food contamination status of microplastics and nanoplastics, covering their entry into food chains through packaging, processing, environmental pollution, and water sources—and discussing potential accumulation in the human body and associated health risks.

2025 Advances in Food Science and Human Nutrition
Article Tier 2

Toxic Chemicals and Persistent Organic Pollutants Associated with Micro-and Nanoplastics Pollution

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics act as carriers for toxic chemical additives and persistent organic pollutants — like flame retardants and pesticides — making these contaminants more available and harmful once they enter food chains and human bodies. The review identifies major gaps in understanding how these chemicals detach from plastic particles inside living organisms and what health effects they cause.

2022 Chemical Engineering Journal Advances 218 citations
Article Tier 2

Migration of microplastics from plastic packaging into foods and its potential threats on human health

This review examined how microplastics migrate from plastic food packaging into the foods we eat. Researchers found that factors like temperature, food acidity, and contact time increase the release of plastic particles and chemical additives from packaging materials. The study raises concerns about long-term health effects from daily microplastic exposure through packaged foods, including potential accumulation of harmful monomers in the body.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic additives and microplastics as emerging contaminants: Mechanisms and analytical assessment

Researchers reviewed how chemical additives mixed into plastics during manufacturing — including stabilizers, flame retardants, and plasticizers — can leach out throughout a plastic's lifecycle and pose risks to ecosystems and human health, with microplastics acting as carriers that concentrate and transport these hazardous chemicals.

2022 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 194 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic: Its Effect on Human Health

This review outlines how microplastics from single-use packaging, bottles, and consumer goods enter the food chain through ingestion and inhalation, serving as carriers for toxic chemical additives and adsorbed pollutants that pose risks to human health.

2023 Asian Journal of Microbiology Biotechnology and Environmental Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic Components of Plastic Pose Carcinogenic Threat to Public Health

A wide range of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals — including bisphenol A, phthalates, brominated flame retardants, and polychlorinated biphenyls — are incorporated into common plastic products and can leach out during use. This review argues that chronic low-level exposure to these plastic-associated chemicals poses serious genotoxic and cancer risks to humans, and calls for greater public awareness and investment in safer biodegradable alternatives.

2023 Journal Of Advanced Zoology