Where do microplastics get in our food?
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Plastics are used in a wide array of consumer and industrial products including toys, household appliances, cosmetics, medical applications, automotive parts, textiles, packaging, and building and construction materials. Limited amounts of plastics are recycled or incinerated, leaving most plastic waste to accumulate in landfills and the environment. Plastic pollution can be found throughout the environment from land to streams and inland waterways to the coast and the ocean. Most plastics do not biodegrade and instead break down from weathering in the environment over time into small particles called microplastics and nanoplastics.
Microplastics and nanoplastics may be present in food, primarily from environmental contamination where foods are grown or raised. There is not sufficient scientific evidence to show that microplastics and nanoplastics from plastic food packaging migrate into foods and beverages. People may be exposed to microplastics and nanoplastics through the air, food, and absorption through the skin from the use of personal care products.
Microplastics and nanoplastics are found in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, as well as varying polymer types, states of degradation, and presence of chemical additives included in plastics during the manufacturing process. Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic that are typically considered less than five millimeters in size in at least one dimension. Microplastics can be manufactured to be that size, such as resin pellets used for plastic production, or degraded to that size from larger plastics discarded into the environment. Nanoplastics are even smaller, typically considered to be less than one µm, or micron, in size. For reference, the diameter of a human hair is about 70 microns. The FDA provides these descriptions of size for reference; however, there are currently no standard definitions for the size of microplastics or nanoplastics. This complex variety of characteristics makes the unique identification and assessment of their potential impacts challenging.
The presence of environmentally derived microplastics and nanoplastics in food alone does not indicate a risk and does not violate FDA regulations unless it creates a health concern. While many studies have reported the presence of microplastics in several foods, including salt, seafood, sugar, beer, bottled water, honey, milk, and tea, current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that the levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health. Additionally, because there are no standardized methods for how to detect, quantify, or characterize microplastics and nanoplastics, many of the scientific studies have used methods of variable, questionable, and/or limited accuracy and specificity.
The FDA continues to monitor the research on microplastics and nanoplastics. If the FDA determines, based on scientific evidence, that microplastics or nanoplastics in food, including packaged food and beverages, adversely affect human health, the FDA can take regulatory action to protect public health.
Microplastics and nanoplastics have been found in human samples, including urine, stool, blood, and organs, but there is not enough known about their potential health effects and more research is needed to fill data gaps. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry formed a microplastics workgroup in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health to define human health risks from microplastics and nanoplastics. They are studying the short and long-term effects on public healthExternal Link Disclaimerand will share their findings with scientists when published.
While some studies suggest there may be impacts to human health from exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics, the overall scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics found in foods pose a risk to human health. The FDA will continue to monitor this issue and if it determines, based on scientific evidence, that microplastics or nanoplastics in food, including packaged food and beverages, are harmful to human health, the FDA will take regulatory action to protect public health.
The FDA is aware of many studies on microplastics, and limited studies on nanoplastics, in the food supply, but significant research gaps exist. While there are many studies on microplastics in food, the current state of science is limited in its ability to inform regulatory risk assessment. This is due to several factors, including a continued lack of standardized definitions, reference materials, sample collection and preparation procedures, and appropriate quality controls, to name a few. There have been fewer studies on nanoplastics because available scientific measurement methods are not very reliable at detecting polymer particles with such small sizes.
Plastics range widely in terms of their characteristics and applications, creating difficulties in the ability to assess their potential toxicity and impact on human health. Some are created to be strong and rigid, while others are created to be flexible. They also range in density. Plastics may be produced with chemicals added during the manufacturing process, such as flame retardants, antimicrobial agents, or fillers, or some can be created as a blend or composite of materials. These varying characteristics affect how plastics degrade in the environment as they turn into microplastics and nanoplastics. Several scientific studies suggest potential toxicity would be a function of many variables and would need to consider characteristics like exposure, polymer type, and size and shape, among others.
Without standard, validated methods for sampling, sample preparation, detection, and characterization, scientists struggle to compare studies and reach reliable conclusions about current research on microplastics and nanoplastics. Variability in analytical methods for identifying, characterizing, and quantifying microplastics and nanoplastics creates barriers to assessing potential human health effects. Scientists at the FDA examined the state of knowledge about microplastics and nanoplastics in food and provided a general approach for developing, validating, and implementing analytical methodsExternal Link Disclaimer for the purpose of regulatory decision-making regarding microplastics and nanoplastics in food. But the FDA concludes that more research is needed before the agency can assess potential effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on human health.
The FDA continues to monitor the research while also working to advance the science through analysis of testing methodologies and other related work, including participation in the U.S. Government Nanoplastics Community of Interest and the new White House Interagency Policy Committee on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy.
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