Microplastics as Emerging Food Contaminants: A Challenge for Food Safety.

Carmen Rubio-Armendáriz,Soraya Paz-Montelongo,Conrado J Carrascosa-Iruzubieta,Ángel J Gutiérrez-Fernández,Arturo Hardisson-De La Torre,Samuel Alejandro-Vega

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031174

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants classified as primary or secondary based on their source. Composition, shape, size, and colour, among other characteristics, are associated with their capacity to access the food chain and their risks. While the environmental impact of MPs has received much attention, the risks for humans derived from their dietary exposure have not been yet assessed. Several institutions and researchers support that the current knowledge does not supply solid data to complete a solid risk characterization of dietary MPs. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge about MPs in foods and to discuss the challenges and gaps for a risk analysis. The presence of MPs in food and beverages has been worldwide observed, but most authors considered the current data to be not only insufficient but of questionable quality mainly because of the outstanding lack of consensus about a standardized quantifying method and a unified nomenclature. Drinking water, crustaceans/molluscs, fish, and salt have been identified as relevant dietary sources of MPs for humans by most published studies. The hazard characterization presents several gaps concerning the knowledge of the toxicokinetic, toxicodynamic, and toxicity of MPs in humans that impede the estimation of food safety standards based on risk. This review provides a tentative exposure assessment based on the levels of MPs published for drinking water, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, and salt and using the mean European dietary consumption estimates. The intake of 2 L/day of water, 70.68 g/day of crustaceans/molluscs, 70.68 g/day of fish, and 9.4 g/day of salt would generate a maximum exposure to 33,626, 212.04, 409.94 and 6.40 particles of MPs/day, respectively. The inexistence of reference values to evaluate the MPs dietary intake prevents the dietary MPs risk characterization and therefore the management of this risk. Scientists and Food Safety Authorities face several challenges but also opportunities associated to the occurrence of MPs in foods. More research on the MPs characterization and exposure is needed bearing in mind that any future risk assessment report should involve a total diet perspective.

Highlights

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants specially affecting the marine ecosystem, but they should be considered as a growing food contaminant
MPs pose a growing risk for terrestrial ecosystems, as MPs have been detected in farming soils [2]
The aim of this paper is to revise the current knowledge, knowledge gaps, and challenges about dietary MPs and to assess them following the four steps of the risk analysis method concerning the dietary exposure from their main dietary sources

Summary

Introduction

Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants specially affecting the marine ecosystem, but they should be considered as a growing food contaminant. Between five and thirteen tons of plastic (1.5–4% of the total global production) reach the marine ecosystems every year [1]. MPs pose a growing risk for terrestrial ecosystems, as MPs have been detected in farming soils [2]. The prevention measures against the spread of the COVID-19 virus have been published maps and institutional affil-.

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