The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published the results of an extensive literature review examining the effects of consuming three pervasive, chemical food contaminants—pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, and microplastics—on the human gut microbiome. The literature reviews aim to fill existing knowledge gaps about how dietary components can impact the gut microbiome and human health, which is crucial information to improve food safety risk assessment.

Microplastics and nanoplastics are pervasive in the food supply and may be affecting food safety and security on a global scale, according to a new study led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency.

Scientists from the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School have discovered microplastics in vascular tissue for the first time. Two of the most prominent polymer types that were found are used in food packaging. 

Human dietary exposure to microplastics is associated with a number of urgent health risks such as digestive, reproductive, and respiratory harm, and should be addressed with a “degree of urgency,” according to a report from the California State Policy Evidence Consortium (CalSPEC).

A recent study has estimated the annual microplastics intake by adult humans based on the presence of microplastics found in the gastrointestinal tracts of 160 fish species

There are significant knowledge gaps regarding the presence of nano- and microplastics in foods and their harmful effects on human health, according to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Recent studies have found that microplastics and nanoplastics move upward through the food chain and land in the human gut, and have also demonstrated the ability of the particles to encourage biofilm formation, harbor pathogens, and affect microbial growth in ways that may affect human health.

Flinders University researchers measured microplastics levels in South Australian mussels, and the findings indicate the probability of plastic pollution in the global food supply chain.