Microplastics in Fish and Shellfish - A Threat to Seafood Safety?

Plastic litter in the oceans is a major environmental problem, and small size plastics (microplastics) have been detected in many species of fish and shellfish consumed by humans. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the knowledge on microplastics in fish and shellfish in relation to a possible...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aquatic food product technology 2020-04, Vol.29 (4), p.417-425
Main Authors: Garrido Gamarro, Esther, Ryder, John, Elvevoll, Edel O., Olsen, Ragnar L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic crustaceans
Crustaceans
Ernæring: 811
Fish
Gastrointestinal system
Gastrointestinal tract
Health sciences: 800
Helsefag: 800
Medical disciplines: 700
Medisinske Fag: 700
Microplastics
Mollusks
Nutrition: 811
Oceans
Plastic pollution
Polymers
Safety
Seafood
Seafood safety
Seafoods
Shellfish
VDP
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Summary:Plastic litter in the oceans is a major environmental problem, and small size plastics (microplastics) have been detected in many species of fish and shellfish consumed by humans. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the knowledge on microplastics in fish and shellfish in relation to a possible threat to seafood safety. In fish and crustacean species, the presence of microplastics has in most cases been investigated and detected only in the gastrointestinal tract, which is commonly not eaten, and when present, only a very small number is usually found. Bivalves are probably the main source of microplastics when consuming seafood. Preliminary assessments have suggested that the contribution of hazardous chemicals from microplastics for top consumers of bivalves is very small compared to other sources. From the current knowledge on microplastics in seafood, there is no evidence that the safety of such highly recommended food is compromised.
ISSN:1049-8850
1547-0636
1547-0636
DOI:10.1080/10498850.2020.1739793