Assessing microplastic contamination in milk and dairy products

Abstract

The presence of microplastics in food has raised growing concern due to potential health risks. While many studies have investigated microplastics in water and seafood, limited data are available for dairy products. This study qualitatively and quantitatively characterizes microplastics in milk, fresh cheese, and ripened cheese, assessing concentration levels and polymer composition through the analysis of 28 dairy samples using Fourier-transformed infrared micro-spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) was the most frequent, followed by polyethylene and polypropylene. Most microplastics were smaller than 150 μm, with 51–100 μm being the most common (33.8%). Irregular fragments (77.4%) and grey particles (68.4%) were predominant. Ripened cheese exhibited the highest microplastic concentration (1857 MP/kg), followed by fresh cheese (1280 MP/kg) and milk (350.0 MP/kg). Results confirm widespread microplastic contamination in dairy products and highlight the importance of further research into contamination pathways and strategies to reduce microplastic exposure in the dairy chain.