The global production volume of plastics continues
to rise. The continued growth in plastics production has
not only led to an increasing volume of plastic waste
released into the environment but has also contributed
to food waste. Plastic polymers released into environment can be slowly degraded by microorganisms, heat,
oxidation, light, or hydrolysis. The degradation of plastic will eventually result in formation of microparticles
commonly known as microplastics, currently defined as
plastic materials with various morphologies in the range
of 0.1–5,000 µm. Primary microplastics are already microscopic in size from the point of manufacture. Common examples are microbeads that act as exfoliating
agents in cleansers, facial scrubs and other cosmetic
products, and virgin pellets that are used as raw materials in the production of plastic goods. Moreover, plastic
particles have been ubiquitously detected in the environments of marine water, freshwater, agroecosystems,
atmosphere, food, drinking water and biota. Estimates
suggest 5.25 trillion plastic particles currently circulate
in ocean surface waters. The presence of plastic particles
in various environments also pose a threat to food security, food safety, and human health. Unfortunately, solid
data on the prevalence of microplastic particles in the
environment are still limited due to the analytical and
technical challenges of extraction, characterization, and
quantification from complex environmental matrices.
Microplastics found in the diet can be derived from food
additives (salt, sugar), drinking water, microplastics incorporated into the food chain (in particular shellfish) or
released from plastic packaging during food processing.
Interestingly, the highest reported concentration of microplastics comes not from the food chain, but rather
from the processing of foods in plastics. Reusable plastic bottles have also been identified as a source of microplastics which could be generated through cleaning
and refiling. In fact, infant exposure to microplastics is
higher than was previously recognized due to the prevalence of polypropylene-based products used in formula preparation and highlight an urgent need to assess
whether exposure to microplastics at these levels poses
a risk to infant health. Apart from their physical presence as environmental pollutants, concerns have been
raised regarding binding of the other components to microplastics, in which case, an interplay of contaminants
can results in the outcomes that are not easy to predict.
For instance, there is a substantial lack of knowledge
on binding of allergenic proteins to microplastics and
influence on the development of allergy and processes
relevant for allergen degradation and presentation to the
immune system (i.e. digestibility and bioavailability).
EU funded project IMPTOX is investigating impact of
micro (and nano)plastics on the allergic diseases. We
aim to understand the effect of micro- and nanoplastics
combined with potentially harmful environmental contaminants adhering to their surfaces and finding their
way into the human body
