Abstract:Food has become the main source of ingested microplastics (MPs) by the human body. MPs in food mainly come from food raw materials (including fish, shellfish, crops, salt and water, etc.), food processing and food packaging. The distribution characteristics of MPs in food such as abundance, shape, particle size and polymer type are related to factors such as geographical location, human activities and type of food industry. Currently, detection methods for MPs include scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy (RS), thermal analysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MC), and a combination of these methods. In addition, the chemical additives inherent in MPs, pollutants adsorbed from the environment, and harmful microbial adhesion can pose health risks to the human body, including direct toxicity, translocation toxicity and compound toxicity. Studies have confirmed that inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction are closely related to MPs intake. This article reviews the sources, distribution characteristics, detection methods, and toxicological effects of MPs contamination in food, which ultimately provides a reference for the prevention and control of MPs in food as well as future research.
