Microplastics contamination is widespread in seafood sampled in a recent study, adding to growing evidence of the dangerous substances’ ubiquity in the nation’s food system, and a growing threat to human health.
The peer-reviewed study detected microplastics in 99%, or 180 out of 182, samples of seafood either bought at the store or from a fishing boat in Oregon. The highest levels were found in shrimp.
Researchers also determined the most common type of microplastic were fibers from clothing or textiles, which represented over 80% of the substance they detected.
The findings highlight a serious problem with plastic use at its current scale, said Elise Granek, a Portland State University microplastics researcher and study co-author.
“As long as we’re using plastic as a major component in our daily lives and we’re using it in a widespread fashion, then we’re going to see them in our food, too,” Granek said.
Microplastics have been detected in water samples around the world, and food is thought to be a main exposure route: recent studies found them in all meat and produce products tested.
Microplastic pollution can contain any number of 16,000 plastic chemicals, and often is attached to highly toxic compounds – like PFAS, bisphenol and phthalates – linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, hormone disruption or developmental toxicity.
The substance can cross the brain and placental barriers, and those who have it in their heart tissue are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke during the next several years.
The study sampled five types of fin fish and pink shrimp, and found the microplastics can travel from gills or mouths to meat that humans eat. Granek said researchers suspect the high levels in shrimp and herring likely owe to them feeding on plankton on the surface of the water…
