Microplastics in Food: A Review on Analytical Methods and Challenges

Human exposure to microplastics contained in food has become a significant concern owing to the increasing accumulation of microplastics in the environment. In this paper, we summarize the presence of microplastics in food and the analytical methods used for isolation and identification of microplas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-09, Vol.17 (18), p.6710
Main Authors: Kwon, Jung-Hwan, Kim, Jin-Woo, Pham, Thanh Dat, Tarafdar, Abhrajyoti, Hong, Soonki, Chun, Sa-Ho, Lee, Sang-Hwa, Kang, Da-Young, Kim, Ju-Yang, Kim, Su-Bin, Jung, Jaehak
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical methods
Animals
Aquaculture
Environmental Monitoring
Exposure
Fish
Food
Food consumption
Food contamination & poisoning
Food processing
Humans
Microplastics
Mollusks
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Processed foods
Review
Salt
Seafood
Seafood - analysis
Seawater
Shellfish
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectrum analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Human exposure to microplastics contained in food has become a significant concern owing to the increasing accumulation of microplastics in the environment. In this paper, we summarize the presence of microplastics in food and the analytical methods used for isolation and identification of microplastics. Although a large number of studies on seafood such as fish and shellfish exist, estimating the overall human exposure to microplastics via food consumption is difficult owing to the lack of studies on other food items. Analytical methods still need to be optimized for appropriate recovery of microplastics in various food matrices, rendering a quantitative comparison of different studies challenging. In addition, microplastics could be added or removed from ingredients during processing or cooking. Thus, research on processed food is crucial to estimate the contribution of food to overall human microplastic consumption and to mitigate this exposure in the future.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17186710