Are microplastics in food and drink dangerous?
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It's hard to say. Microplastics occur on a large scale in the environment, but little is known about the risks for humans and the environment.
What are microplastics?
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Microplastics are very small particles of plastic (smaller than 5 millimeters). Some particles are accidentally created by the wear of larger pieces of plastic, such as synthetic clothing. Microplastics are also deliberately added to various products, such as certain make-up, personal care products, detergents, cleaning products and paint. Besides microplastics, there are also nanoplastics. These are even smaller particles of plastic (smaller than 0.0001 millimeters). Nanoplastics can arise, for example, because microplastic particles wear out even further or can be deliberately added to products. Because nanoplastics are extremely small, they can have different properties than microplastics.
Microplastics in our food and drinking water
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Microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics can end up in our food via the soil, air or water. For example, microplastic particles have been found in fish and crustaceans and shellfish. In fish, these plastic particles are mainly found in the gastrointestinal tract. These are normally not the parts that humans eat. It is less known whether microplastics also occur in the edible parts of fish. Mussels and shrimps from the North Sea also appear to contain microplastics. Crustaceans and shellfish filter the water and this can cause microplastics to accumulate. Eating shellfish, such as mussels and oysters, can also ingest microplastics. It is not yet known to what extent microplastics and nanoplastics occur in drinking water. Larger particles can be filtered from drinking water, but this is not the case with very small nanoplastics. It is currently unknown to what extent this is a health risk.
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11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
Risks difficult to estimate
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It remains difficult to determine whether you ingest microplastics through food and if so, how bad this is. A small proportion of the microplastics pass through the intestinal wall, but their further journey in the body is unknown. More research is currently being done on this.
Pathogens and other harmful substances
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Another concern is the harmful substances that can be attached to or in microplastics. Pathogenic bacteria or viruses can piggyback with the worldwide spread of microplastics. In this way bacteria and other pathogens can move over great distances. If they end up in drinking or swimming water in places where they usually do not or hardly occur, they can pose a danger to human health there. There may also be other harmful substances on or in microplastics, such as plasticizers that can disrupt hormones.
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Another concern is the harmful substances that can be attached to or in microplastics. Pathogenic bacteria or viruses can piggyback on the worldwide spread of microplastics. In this way bacteria and other pathogens can move over great distances. If they end up in drinking or swimming water in places where they usually do not or hardly occur, they can pose a danger to human health there. There may also be other harmful substances on or in microplastics, such as plasticizers that can disrupt hormones.