Potential Health Impact of Environmentally Released Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Human Food Production Chain: Experiences from Nanotoxicology

Abstract

High concentrations of plastic debris have been observed in the oceans. Much of the recent concern has focused on microplastics in the marine environment. Recent studies of the size distribution of the plastic debris suggested that continued fragmenting of microplastics into nanosized particles may occur. In this review we assess the current literature on the occurrence of environmentally released micro- and nanoplastics in the human food production chain and their potential health impact. The currently used analytical techniques introduce a great bias in the knowledge, since they are only able to detect plastic particles well above the nanorange. We discuss the potential use of the very sensitive analytical techniques that have been developed for the detection and quantification of engineered nanoparticles. We recognize three possible toxic effects of plastic particles: first due to the plastic particles themselves, second to the release of persistent organic pollutant adsorbed to the plastics, and third to the leaching of additives of the plastics. The limited data on microplastics in foods do not predict adverse effect of these pollutants or additives. Potential toxic effects of microplastic particles will be confined to the gut. The potential human toxicity of nanoplastics is poorly studied. Based on our experiences in nanotoxicology we prioritized future research questions.

Tissue accumulation of microplastics in mice and biomarker responses suggest widespread health risks of exposure

“…Therefore, food products may represent an important route of entry for MPs into humans, although systematic quantitative data of MPs in human tissues have not been reported. Furthermore, several studies have observed MPs in some non-marine food products, such as honey (40–660 items/kg honey), sugars (32 ± 7 items/kg sugar), beer (12–109 items/L beer) and table salt (7–681 items/kg salts)35. These represent additional dietary routes for human populations to be exposed to MPs.…”

Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities

“…Clear parallels 811 exist from this work to future studies with nanoparticles, with collaboration between the disciplines 812 likely to improve understanding (Bouwmeester et al, 2015;Syberg et al, 2015). This takes the more 813 environmentally relevant approach that it is necessary to understand the fate, behaviour and impacts 814 of microplastics as an environmental pollutant and, therefore, their potential implications for keys 815 ecosystem components and processes.…”

Brood pouch-mediated polystyrene nanoparticle uptake during Daphnia magna embryogenesis

“…Increasing amounts of small plastic debris build up in natural systems mainly due to the gradual breakdown of larger plastics such as disposable packaging materials by weathering and photodegradation (Ivar Do Sul and Costa 2014;Bouwmeester, Hollman, and Peters 2015). The contamination of microplastics (< 1 um) in aquatic ecosystems is detected worldwide, even in remote areas (Hammer, Kraak, and Parsons 2012;Cozar et al 2014;Eerkes-Medrano, Thompson, and Aldridge 2015), since most plastics are not biodegradable and remain in suspension due to lower density than water.…”