Microplastic contamination of salt intended for human consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Danopoulos, E; Jenner, Lauren C.; Twiddy, Maureen; Rotchell, Jeanette M.

doi:10.1007/s42452-020-03749-0

Cited by 45 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 105 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A recent study by Guillen et al (2019) attempted to calculate the global seafood production and consumption footprint using FAO consumption data and modeling, reporting China to be the major global producer and consumer and also as being self-sufficient for the most part (Guillen et al 2019). Other media have also been identified as vectors of MPs via the ingestion route with varying MP concentrations, such as sugar (0:44 MPs=g) (Cox et al 2019), whereas in our previous work, salt was found to have an MP content of 0-1,674 MPs=kg (Danopoulos et al 2020a), tap water 0-628 MPs=L, and bottled water 0-4,889 MPs=L (Danopoulos et al 2020b). Further systematic reviews are needed to robustly assess MP contamination and human exposures from all food categories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Microplastic Contamination of Seafood Intended for Human Consumption: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Danopoulos

Jenner

Twiddy

et al. 2020

Environ Health Perspect

Self Cite

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Microplastics (MPs) have contaminated all compartments of the marine environment including biota such as seafood; ingestion from such sources is one of the two major uptake routes identified for human exposure. Objectives: The objectives were to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the levels of MP contamination in seafood and to subsequently estimate the annual human uptake. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched from launch (1947, 1974, and 1900, respectively) up to October 2020 for all studies reporting MP content in seafood species. Mean, standard deviations, and ranges of MPs found were collated. Studies were appraised systematically using a bespoke risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool. Results: Fifty studies were included in the systematic review and 19 in the meta-analysis. Evidence was available on four phyla: mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and echinodermata. The majority of studies identified MP contamination in seafood and reported MP content , with 26% of studies rated as having a high RoB, mainly due to analysis or reporting weaknesses. Mollusks collected off the coasts of Asia were the most heavily contaminated, coinciding with reported trends of MP contamination in the sea. According to the statistical summary, MP content was in mollusks, in crustaceans, in fish, and in echinodermata. Maximum annual human MP uptake was estimated to be close to 55,000 MP particles. Statistical, sample, and methodological heterogeneity was high. Discussion: This is the first systematic review, to our knowledge, to assess and quantify MP contamination of seafood and human uptake from its consumption, suggesting that action must be considered in order to reduce human exposure via such consumption. Further high-quality research using standardized methods is needed to cement the scientific evidence on MP contamination and human exposures. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7171

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Other media have also been identified as vectors of MPs via the ingestion route with varying MP concentrations, such as sugar (

) ( Cox et al. 2019 ), whereas in our previous work, salt was found to have an MP content of

( Danopoulos et al. 2020a ), tap water

, and bottled water

( Danopoulos et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Microplastic Contamination of Seafood Intended for Human Consumption: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Danopoulos

Jenner

Twiddy

et al. 2020

Environ Health Perspect

Self Cite

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the last few years, several studies regarding the microplastic contamination of salt intended for human consumption [ 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 ] have been published and discussed [ 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 ]. Salts provide essential nutrition elements and, thanks to their chemical characteristics and low cost, are used in food preservation methods (e.g., fruits, cheese, cereals, drinks).…”

Section: Microplastic Transport In the Food Web And Consequent Human Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the Environment: Intake through the Food Web, Human Exposure and Toxicological Effects

Pironti

Ricciardi

Motta

et al. 2021

Toxics

156

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, studies on microplastics (MPs) have increased rapidly due to the growing awareness of the potential health risks related to their occurrence. The first part of this review is devoted to MP occurrence, distribution, and quantification. MPs can be transferred from the environment to humans mainly through inhalation, secondly from ingestion, and, to a lesser extent, through dermal contact. As regards food web contamination, we discuss the microplastic presence not only in the most investigated sources, such as seafood, drinking water, and salts, but also in other foods such as honey, sugar, milk, fruit, and meat (chickens, cows, and pigs). All literature data suggest not-negligible human exposure to MPs through the above-mentioned routes. Consequently, several research efforts have been devoted to assessing potential human health risks. Initially, toxicological studies were conducted with aquatic organisms and then with experimental mammal animal models and human cell cultures. In the latter case, toxicological effects were observed at high concentrations of MPs (polystyrene is the most common MP benchmark) for a short time. Further studies must be performed to assess the real consequences of MP contamination at low concentrations and prolonged exposure.

show abstract

“…Danopoulos and colleagues also recently published systematic reviews of microplastics exposure from salt 6 and drinking water. 7 They estimated potential human exposures via salt at 0–6,110 MPs/year.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 7 They estimated potential human exposures via salt at 0–6,110 MPs/year. 6 For drinking water, they estimated that people might be consuming up to 458,000 MPs/year for tap water and 3,569,000 MPs/year for bottled water, based on average water consumption. 7 “The results of all three systematic reviews,” Danopoulos says, “can be used in an aggregate exposure framework from all three mediums, which will give us an estimate of high confidence on human microplastics exposures.”…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in Seafood: How Much Are People Eating?

Nicole¹

2021

Environ Health Perspect

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With discarded plastics making up more than 80% of the trash that accumulates in some locations, 1 microplastics (MPs) have become ubiquitous in the environment. Generally defined as synthetic polymers less than 5 mm in diameter, 2 MPs have been found in fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, and even mammals. 3 In a systematic review and meta-analysis recently reported in Environmental Health Perspectives, investigators estimated the level of MP contamination in seafood and, consequently, how much people may ingest each year. 3 It is not clear whether MP consumption harms human health, although particles may carry potential hazardous plastic constituents, microorganisms, and adsorbed chemicals. 3 "In order to assess whether the uptake of microplastics via food can indeed pose a risk to our health, first we need to quantify this exposure, and, second, determine whether this exposure is high enough to have a detrimental effect," says lead study author Evangelos Danopoulos, a doctoral student at Hull York Medical School in England. "Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can play a key function in the risk assessment process."The systematic review included 50 primary peer-reviewed papers-all field studies that sampled mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and echinoderms for MP contamination-and 19 studies were used in the meta-analysis. The authors developed a novel risk of bias (RoB) quality assessment tool to evaluate all aspects of experimental design, execution, and reporting for each paper. Among other inclusion criteria, studies must have sampled commercially relevant seafood species and used one of four validated procedures to assess the chemical composition of MPs.

show abstract

Microplastic contamination of salt intended for human consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 45 publications

References 105 publications

Microplastic Contamination of Seafood Intended for Human Consumption: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Microplastic Contamination of Seafood Intended for Human Consumption: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Microplastics in the Environment: Intake through the Food Web, Human Exposure and Toxicological Effects

Microplastics in Seafood: How Much Are People Eating?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About