Microplastics Contaminate 80% Of Proteins: U.S. Study

Which proteins contain the most microplastics? If you're eating protein, you could be ingesting hundreds of tiny pieces of plastic each year, research finds, as reported by Allyson Chiu for the Washington Post.

It is estimated that an American adult could consume, on average, at least 11,000 microplastic pieces per year.

A new study by researchers with the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto found microplastics - tiny particles ranging from one micrometer (one thousandth of a millimeter) to half a centimeter in size - in nearly 90% of protein food samples tested.

The researchers analyzed more than a dozen different types of common proteins that could wind up on the average American's plate, including seafood, pork, beef, chicken, tofu, and several plant-based meat alternatives.

They estimated that an American adult could consume, on average, at least 11,000 microplastic pieces per year, according to the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Pollution.

"There's no way to hide from plastics if you're eating," said George Leonard, one of the study's authors and chief scientist at Ocean Conservancy.

"If your desire is like, 'I want to pick something that doesn't have any plastic in it,' you really can't." Research has documented microplastics in fruits and vegetables as well as other food products like salt, sugar, rice, and milk.

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