Can you ingest microplastics from eating fish?

Answer

Dear Simon,

Microplastics is the name for pieces of plastic smaller than 5mm. Researchers have already found microplastics in the stomach and intestines of mussels, shrimps, langoustines, periwinkles and fish (whiting, cod and sprat). With fish, there is no problem with regard to human consumption. After all, the microplastics are removed together with the viscera during cleaning. With shrimps and langoustines, we only remove the shell and the head. Part of the intestinal tract remains. And molluscs such as mussels and periwinkles are consumed whole. So we do ingest microplastics when we eat crustaceans and shellfish. A portion of shrimp (250 g unpeeled) contains on average 17 microplastics. With a portion of mussels (250 g of meat) you absorb 90 microplastics. A true mussel lover can absorb up to 11,000 microplastics per year. Read more about it in De Grote Rede, the information sheet of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ).

In addition to microplastics (0.0001 – 5 mm), researchers are now also focusing on the study and effects of nanoplastics. They are really tiny: between 1 and 100 nanometers (ie between one millionth and one ten thousandth of a millimeter). These nanoplastics can be man-made (eg for medical and industrial applications) or be the degradation product of microplastics. It is generally known that nanoplastics can be harmful to animals, plants and micro-organisms, but that this negative effect is highly dependent on the type of material, the size and the shape of the particles. Until now, there are no standardized measurement methods, monitoring and risk assessments for nanoplastics in food, and fish and seafood in particular.

Regards,

Nancy