Microplastics and nanoplastics are pervasive contaminants that are known to enter the food chain and pose health hazards to consumers. Recently, a study published in Trends in Food Science & Technology has not only demonstrated the presence of microplastics in human foods, but has also shown that microplastics can encourage the formation of biofilms that harbor pathogens, leading to a number of negative consequences that can ultimately affect human health.
As marine and terrestrial ecosystems are rife with microplatics contamination, the substances are inevitably taken up through the food chain, leading to ingestion being the main route of human exposure to microplastics. For example, a different study conducted in 2022 by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland was able to trace nanoplastics through the food chain using a novel, metallic fingerprint-based technique to detect and measure the particles in organisms. The researchers observed that nanoplastics are taken up through the roots of plants; accumulate in the plants’ leaves which are eaten by insects; and, finally, are detected in the gills, liver, and intestinal tissues of fish that feed on the insects.