Abstract
This chapter presents a compilation of the analytical techniques used to detect and analyze microplastics in food. A detailed description of microplastics found in different samples is provided as well as an estimate of the annual intake of these particles. A total of 22–37 milligrams of microplastics per year was found. The factors that can influence the presence of particles in food, especially table salt, are discussed, showing that a background presence of microplastics in the environment can explain a large amount of experimental data.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bakir A, O’Connor IA, Rowland SJ, Hendriks AJ, Thompson RC (2016) Relative importance of microplastics as a pathway for the transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals to marine life. Environ Pollut 219:56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.046
Barboza LGA, Dick Vethaak A, Lavorante BRBO, Lundebye A-KK, Guilhermino L (2018) Marine microplastic debris: an emerging issue for food security, food safety and human health. Mar Pollut Bull 133:336–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.047
Boerger CM, Lattin GL, Moore SL, Moore CJ (2010) Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific central gyre. Mar Pollut Bull 60:2275–2278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007
Bouwmeester H, Hollman PCH, Peters RJB (2015) Potential health impact of environmentally released micro- and nanoplastics in the human food production chain: experiences from nanotoxicology. Environ Sci Technol 49:8932–8947. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01090
Brennecke D, Duarte B, Paiva F, Caçador I, Canning-Clode J (2016) Microplastics as vector for heavy metal contamination from the marine environment. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 178:189–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECSS.2015.12.003
Browne MA, Crump P, Niven SJ, Teuten E, Tonkin A, Galloway T, Thompson R (2011) Accumulation of microplastic on shorelines worldwide: sources and sinks. Environ Sci Technol 45:9175–9179. https://doi.org/10.1021/es201811s
Carbery M, O’Connor W, Palanisami T (2018) Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health. Environ Int 115:400–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.03.007
Chang X, Xue Y, Li J, Zou L, Tang M (2020) Potential health impact of environmental micro- and nanoplastics pollution. J Appl Toxicol 40:4–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.3915
Cox KD, Covernton GA, Davies HL, Dower JF, Juanes F, Dudas SE (2019) Human consumption of microplastics. Environ Sci Technol. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517
Cózar A, Echevarría F, González-Gordillo JI, Irigoien X, Úbeda B, Hernández-León S, Palma ÁT, Navarro S, García-de-Lomas J, Ruiz A (2014) Plastic debris in the open ocean. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111:10239–10244
Dick Vethaak A, Leslie HA (2016) Plastic debris is a human health issue. Environ Sci Technol. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02569
Fortin S, Song B, Burbage C (2019) Quantifying and identifying microplastics in the effluent of advanced wastewater treatment systems using Raman microspectroscopy. Mar Pollut Bull 149:110579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110579
Gassel M, Harwani S, Park J-S, Jahn A (2013) Detection of nonylphenol and persistent organic pollutants in fish from the North Pacific central gyre. Mar Pollut Bull 73:231–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2013.05.014
Hall NM, Berry KLE, Rintoul L, Hoogenboom MO (2015) Microplastic ingestion by scleractinian corals. Mar Biol 162:725–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2619-7
Hidayaturrahman H, Lee TG (2019) A study on characteristics of microplastic in wastewater of South Korea: identification, quantification, and fate of microplastics during treatment process. Mar Pollut Bull 146:696–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.06.071
Huerta Lwanga E, Mendoza Vega J, Ku Quej V, Chi J d l A, Sanchez del Cid L, Chi C, Escalona Segura G, Gertsen H, Salánki T, van der Ploeg M, Koelmans AA, Geissen V (2017) Field evidence for transfer of plastic debris along a terrestrial food chain. Sci Rep 7:14071. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14588-2
Iñiguez ME, Conesa JA, Fullana A (2016) Marine debris occurrence and treatment: a review. Renew Sust Energ Rev 64:394–402
Iñiguez ME, Conesa JA, Fullana A (2017) Microplastics in Spanish table salt. Sci Rep 7:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09128-x
Jambeck JR, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler TR, Perryman M, Andrady A, Narayan R, Law KL (2015) Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science (80–) 347:768–771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352
Jungnickel H, Pund R, Tentschert J, Reichardt P, Laux P, Harbach H, Luch A (2016) Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)-based analysis and imaging of polyethylene microplastics formation during sea surf simulation. Sci Total Environ 563–564:261–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.025
Karami A, Golieskardi A, Keong Choo C, Larat V, Galloway TS, Salamatinia B (2017) The presence of microplastics in commercial salts from different countries. Sci Rep 7:46173. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46173. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46173#supplementary-information
Kazour M, Jemaa S, Issa C, Khalaf G, Amara R (2019) Microplastics pollution along the Lebanese coast (eastern Mediterranean Basin): occurrence in surface water, sediments and biota samples. Sci Total Environ 696:133933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133933
Kern S, Kern C, Rohnke M (2019) Mass spectra database of polymers for bismuth-cluster ToF-SIMS. Surf Sci Spectra 26:025003. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5096485
Koelmans AA, Gouin T, Thompson R, Wallace N, Arthur C (2014) Plastics in the marine environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 33:5–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2426
Kosuth M, Mason SA, Wattenberg EV (2018) Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt. PLoS One 13:e0194970. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194970
Laist DW (1987) Overview of the biological effects of lost and discarded plastic debris in the marine environment. Mar Pollut Bull 18:319–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(87)80019-X
Li J, Yang D, Li L, Jabeen K, Shi H (2015) Microplastics in commercial bivalves from China. Environ Pollut 207:190–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.09.018
Liebezeit G, Liebezeit E (2013) Non-pollen particulates in honey and sugar. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 30:2136–2140. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2013.843025
Liebezeit G, Liebezeit E (2014) Synthetic particles as contaminants in German beers. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 31:1574–1578. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2014.945099
Lönnstedt OM, Eklöv P (2016) Environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastic particles influence larval fish ecology. Science (80–) 352:1213–1216. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad8828
Lu Y, Zhang Y, Deng Y, Jiang W, Zhao Y, Geng J, Ding L, Ren H (2016) Uptake and accumulation of polystyrene microplastics in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and toxic effects in liver. Environ Sci Technol 50:4054–4060. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00183
Mathalon A, Hill P (2014) Microplastic fibers in the intertidal ecosystem surrounding Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia. Mar Pollut Bull 81:69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.018
Mato Y, Isobe T, Takada H, Kanehiro H, Ohtake C, Kaminuma T (2001) Plastic resin pellets as a transport medium for toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment. Environ Sci Technol 35:318–324. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0010498
Mühlschlegel P, Hauk A, Walter U, Sieber R (2017) Lack of evidence for microplastic contamination in honey. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 34:1982–1989. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2017.1347281
Oberbeckmann S, Löder MGJ, Labrenz M (2015) Marine microplastic-associated biofilms – a review. Environ Chem 12:551. https://doi.org/10.1071/EN15069
Peng L, Fu D, Qi H, Lan CQ, Yu H, Ge C (2020) Micro- and nano-plastics in marine environment: source, distribution and threats – a review. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134254
Plastics Europe, EPRO (2016) Plastics – the facts 2016 an analysis of european plastics production, demand and waste data. Plastics Facts 2016
Rainieri S, Barranco A (2019) Microplastics, a food safety issue? Trends Food Sci Technol 84:55–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.12.009
Renzi M, Blašković A (2018) Litter & microplastics features in table salts from marine origin: Italian versus Croatian brands. Mar Pollut Bull 135:62–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.065
Rios LM, Moore C, Jones PR (2007) Persistent organic pollutants carried by synthetic polymers in the ocean environment. Mar Pollut Bull 54:1230–1237. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2007.03.022
Rochman CM, Hoh E, Kurobe T, Teh SJ (2013) Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Sci Rep 3:3263. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03263
Rubio L, Marcos R, Hernández A (2019) Potential adverse health effects of ingested micro- and nanoplastics on humans. Lessons learned from in vivo and in vitro mammalian models. J Toxicol Environ Heal Part B Crit Rev. https://doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2019.1700598
Sarria-Villa RA, Gallo-Corredor JA (2016) La gran problematica ambiental de los residuos plasticos: Microplasticos. J Cienc e Ing 8:21–27
Senathirajah K, Palanisami T (2019) How much microplastics are we ingesting?: estimation of the mass of microplastics ingested. /Plastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week/Featured news/Newsroom/The University of Newcastle, Australia [WWW Document]. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/newsroom/featured/plastic-ingestion-by-people-could-be-equating-to-a-credit-card-a-week/how-much-microplastics-are-we-ingesting-estimation-of-the-mass-of-microplastics-ingested. Accessed 2 Oct 2019
Shan J, Zhao J, Zhang Y, Liu L, Wu F, Wang X (2019) Simple and rapid detection of microplastics in seawater using hyperspectral imaging technology. Anal Chim Acta 1050:161–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2018.11.008
Talvitie J, Heinonen M, Pääkkönen JP, Vahtera E, Mikola A, Setälä O, Vahala R (2015) Do wastewater treatment plants act as a potential point source of microplastics? Preliminary study in the coastal Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. Water Sci Technol 72:1495–1504. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2015.360
Tanaka K, Takada H, Yamashita R, Mizukawa K, Fukuwaka M a, Watanuki Y (2013) Accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics. Mar Pollut Bull 69:219–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.010
Toussaint B, Raffael B, Angers-Loustau A, Gilliland D, Kestens V, Petrillo M, Rio-Echevarria IM, Van den Eede G (2019) Review of micro- and nanoplastic contamination in the food chain. Food Addit Contam Part A 36:639–673. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2019.1583381
Yang D, Shi H, Li L, Li J, Jabeen K, Kolandhasamy P (2015) Microplastic pollution in table salts from China. Environ Sci Technol. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03163
Acknowledgments
Support for this work was provided by the CTQ2016-76608-R project from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Spain) and by the University of Alicante under the project UAUSTI18-06.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Conesa, J.A., Iñiguez, M.E. (2022). Analysis of Microplastics in Food Samples. In: Rocha-Santos, T., Costa, M.F., Mouneyrac, C. (eds) Handbook of Microplastics in the Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39041-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39041-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39040-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39041-9
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics