Researchers are pointing to the food safety and public health threat of microplastics in wastewater, which can serve as a vehicle for pathogenic biofilm communities and antibiotics, introducing these hazards to the environment and crops, and even contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
FDA recently asserted that available scientific evidence “does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health.” However, the agency acknowledges the current science is limited by a lack of standard definitions or methods.
A recent study has found the ubiquitous presence of tire-derived compounds in leafy greens samples grown in four European countries, indicating that chemicals in tires and roads are taken up by crops.
Researchers recently conducted sampling and analysis of common vegetable oils from Italy and Spain, packaged in both glass and plastic bottles, to determine the presence of microplastics. Microplastics were found in every sample tested, regardless of packaging.
An EU project that monitors contaminants in important Mediterranean fishing regions/seafood species has discovered concerning levels of microplastics in the guts and stomachs of some fish.
A new study has found microplastics particles in 88 percent of protein food samples across 16 types, with no statistical difference in microplastics concentrations between land- and ocean-sourced proteins.
Using a new microscopic technique that can detect minute particles of plastic, Rutgers Health and Columbia researchers have discovered that bottled drinking water contains 10–100 times more plastic particles than previous estimates have suggested.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published the results of an extensive literature review examining the effects of consuming three pervasive, chemical food contaminants—pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, and microplastics—on the human gut microbiome. The literature reviews aim to fill existing knowledge gaps about how dietary components can impact the gut microbiome and human health, which is crucial information to improve food safety risk assessment.
Microplastics and nanoplastics are pervasive in the food supply and may be affecting food safety and security on a global scale, according to a new study led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency.
