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Microplastics have been found in nearly 90 per cent of sources of proteins, including meat and plant-based, according to a new study that serves as a startling reminder of how prolific plastic pollution has become.
While the presence of microplastics in commercial fish and shellfish has been known for long, there has been little research into terrestrial protein sources like beef and chicken that make up a large part of the Western diet.
A team of researchers studied samples from 16 different protein types destined for American consumers, including seafood, pork, beef, chicken, tofu, and three different plant-based meat alternatives. They found microplastic particles in 88 per cent of protein food samples tested.
The study, led by Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto, also confirmed that there were no statistical differences in microplastic concentrations between land- and ocean-sourced proteins – which means chicken, beef and plant-based proteins can be as harmful as fisheries.
“….humans live on land and yet seafood samples are just as likely to be contaminated with plastics as are terrestrial derived proteins,” study co-author Dr Britta Baechler, associate director of plastics science at Ocean Conservancy, said.
“And there’s no escaping them no matter what you eat, it seems. The plastic pollution crisis is impacting all of us, and we need to take action to address its many forms.”
Researchers say they found one key difference which made certain protein sources less polluted than others: processing.
Highly processed protein products, like fish sticks, chicken nuggets, tofu, and plant-based burgers, among others, contained a lot more microplastics per gram than those minimally processed, like raw chicken breast, and others.
However, this difference was statistically negligible, indicating that food processing alone may not be the sole contributor to contamination.
“It’s tempting to want to draw conclusions like ‘eat less of this and more of that’ to avoid microplastics in your diet; but right now, we still know very little about the microplastic burdens in commonly consumed foods,” Madeleine Milne, who conducted the research at the Rochman Lab at the University of Toronto, said.
The study also sheds light on the types of microplastics found, with nearly half identified as fibres and about a third as plastic fragments.
Using survey data, the authors estimate that an average American adult may consume around 11,500 microplastics per year, with potential exposure reaching as high as 3.8 million microplastics per year based on varying consumption rates.
There’s no escaping them no matter what you eat, it seems. The plastic pollution crisis is impacting all of us, and we need to take action to address its many forms.”
Dr Britta Baechler, associate director of plastics science at Ocean Conservancy
Another recent study showed bottled water bottles contained approximately a quarter of a million invisible particles of plastic, some even smaller than microplastics that can get inside crucial human organs.
Decades of unchecked plastic consumption and waste production has led to microplastics infiltrating every ecosystem on the planet, with studies showing their presence from the deepest of ocean waters and top of the mountains and even in human babies at birth.
These minuscule plastic particles which shed from plastic products, measuring less than five millimeters in size, get digested into our bodies and carry toxic chemicals. While a lot more research is needed to fully understand the impact of consuming these particles, several studies have shown they can damage cells in the human body, leading to serious health effects, including cancers, lung disease, and birth defects.
“Our work is a call to action to reduce plastic pollution in its many forms to ensure a safe and healthy food supply for all consumers,” Dr George Leonard, chief scientist at Ocean Conservancy and co-author of the study, said.