Dietary Exposure to Additives and Sorbed Contaminants from Ingested Microplastic Particles Through the Consumption of Fisheries and Aquaculture Products

Abstract

Microplastics and nanoplastics may be found in the gastrointestinal tract of some aquatic animals and could potentially be ingested by humans if consumed whole. Information on the toxicity of plastic particles, as well as co-contaminants such as plastic additives, remains scarce. This represents a serious challenge to perform realistic risk assessments. An exposure assessment of selected plastic additives and co-contaminants of known toxicity associated with microplastics was carried out for shellfish in this study, which builds on an exposure assessment of microplastic additives and a limited number of associated contaminants in mussels conducted by the FAO in 2017. This study evaluates possible impacts to food safety by examining a diverse additives and associated sorbed contaminants. The results suggest that the levels of certain microplastic additives and sorbed co-contaminants in target animals (shrimp, prawns, clams, oysters, and mussels) do not pose a food safety threat to consumers. To get to further conclusions, an exposure assessment from the whole diet should be carried out and the toxicity of some of the most common polymers and plastic additives, as well as their mixtures, needs to be carefully evaluated.