How much plastic have you or your baby ingested today?

If your child has eaten food stored in plastic containers, he or she has almost certainly  consumed hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fragments. Whether you keep them in  the fridge or at room temperature, plastic containers release microscopic particles into our food in huge quantities.  

To measure the quantity of microplastics and nanoplastics present in the food we eat, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the USA tested different plastic containers, kinds of food, and storage conditions. They found the highest level of plastic contamination in food that had been microwaved while in a plastic container, acidic foods, and foods that had been stored while hot.

The tests were conducted on two brands of plastic containers and reusable food pouches, which had either been used to package baby food or sold to store it. All the containers tested were made of polypropylene. The quantity of microplastics released ranged from 23.2 thousand to 4.71 million particles per square centimetre of plastic, while the quantity of nano-plastics released ranged from 11.5 million to 2.11 billion particles per square centimetre. The release of microplastics varied depending on the container tested and its usage conditions, with the pouch releasing the largest number of plastic fragments.

The authors pointed out that infants and toddlers frequently come into contact with plastic products and consume foods prepared using plastics. The highest estimated daily intake for babies occurred when they drank microwaved water stored in a plastic container. For toddlers, the highest estimated intake occurred when microwaved dairy products stored in plastic were consumed. The research also considered the impact of plastic pollution on cells and found that the tiny, irregularly shaped nanoplastics caused damage on a cellular level.  

No one knows how much plastic is accumulating in children's bodies because of the food they eat, the air they breathe, and the products that come into contact with their skin. Further research into the health implications of this plastic exposure is urgently needed.

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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk

Image: food preservation method - By Freepik (ST ref:1352)

Edited by Sophia Stilwell