Presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, with particular focus on seafood

Following a request from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the EFSA Panel for Contaminants in the Food Chain was asked to deliver a statement on the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, with particular focus on seafood. Primary microplastics are plastics originally manufactured to be that size, while secondary microplastics originate from fragmentation. Nanoplastics can originate from engineered material or can be produced during fragmentation of microplastic debris. Microplastics range from 0.1 to 5,000 μm and nanoplastics from approximately 1 to 100 nm (0.001-0.1 μm). There is no legislation for microplastics and nanoplastics as contaminants in food. Methods are available…

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  Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung