29/07/2016

There is global interest in the impact of plastic waste in seas and waterways on natural habitats and wildlife. EFSA has taken a first step towards a future assessment of the potential risks to consumers from microplastics and nanoplastics in food, especially seafood.

 

EFSA defines microplastics as ranging in size from 0.1 to 5000 micrometres (µm), or 5 millimetres to give an idea. Nanoplastics measure from 0.001 to 0.1 µm (i.e. 1 to 100 nanometres).

 

Following a request from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the EFSA Panel for Contaminants in the Food Chain was asked to deliver a statement on the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, with particular focus on seafood.

 

EFSA has comprehensively reviewed existing literature on this topic and found there are insufficient data on the occurrence, toxicity and fate – what happens after digestion – of these materials for a full risk assessment. It also revealed that nanoplastics require particular attention. So the review has allowed EFSA to take stock of scientific developments in this area, identify data and knowledge gaps and recommend future research priorities to address them.

 

This floating plastic debris is gradually fragmenting into smaller particles which eventually become microplastics and even nanoplastics. There are pellets, flakes, spheroids and beads engineered to these sizes too.

 

There are no data at all on nanoplastics in food but there is some information on microplastics, particularly for the marine environment. Fish show high concentrations but since microplastics are mostly present in the stomach and intestines they are usually removed and consumers are not exposed to them. But in crustaceans and bivalve molluscs like oysters and mussels, you eat the digestive tract so there is some exposure there. They have also been reported in honey, beer and table salt.

 

One potential concern is over high concentrations of pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that can accumulate in microplastics. There might also be residues of compounds used in packaging such as bisphenol A (BPA). Some studies suggest that after consuming microplastics in food these substances may transfer into tissues. So, it is important to estimate the average intake.

 

We know that engineered nanoparticles (from different types of nanomaterials) can enter human cells so this may have consequences for human health. But more research and data are needed.