Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers

Seafood accounts for more than 17% of the global consumption of animal protein, with an excess of 335000 t consumed in Australia throughout 2019-2020. Recently, the presence of microplastics (MPs) within commercial seafood and the potential vectorisation of MPs to human consumers has become a signif...

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主要な著者: Amanda L. Dawson, Joan Y.Q. Li, Frederieke J. Kroon
フォーマット: 論文
言語:English
出版事項: Elsevier 2022-07-01
シリーズ:Environmental Advances
主題:
オンライン・アクセス:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765722000849
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author Amanda L. Dawson
Joan Y.Q. Li
Frederieke J. Kroon
author_facet Amanda L. Dawson
Joan Y.Q. Li
Frederieke J. Kroon
author_sort Amanda L. Dawson
collection DOAJ
description Seafood accounts for more than 17% of the global consumption of animal protein, with an excess of 335000 t consumed in Australia throughout 2019-2020. Recently, the presence of microplastics (MPs) within commercial seafood and the potential vectorisation of MPs to human consumers has become a significant concern for the public and the scientific community. Here, four commonly harvested wild-caught marine organisms were assessed for MP presence. These species comprise a significant proportion of the Queensland seafood industry, as well as being highly desirable to Australian consumers. The edible muscle tissue and discarded digestive tissue (GIT) of barramundi (Lates calcifer), coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), blue leg king prawns (Melicertus latisulcatus), and Ballot's saucer scallops (Ylistrum balloti), were analysed discretely to determine the extent to which these species may be contaminated in the wild (GIT tissue), and the extent to which they themselves may act as a vector for human exposure (edible muscle tissue). Wild-caught seafood was predominantly free of MPs, with digestive tissues from two of ten coral trout containing only two fibres each. All wild-caught muscle tissue samples were free of MPs, as was the GIT of scallops, prawns, and barramundi. On the other hand, fresh, skinless barramundi muscle tissues, purchased from various commercial suppliers, were examined and found to be significantly contaminated with MPs (0.02 - 0.19 MP g-1). Overall, these results highlight the growing consensus that food can become contaminated simply by being prepared in the human environment, and the focus must shift to determining the extent of MP proliferation within the processing and point-of-sale environment.
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spelling doaj.art-4e41763b51d44b638bfe65e4b97c812b2022-12-22T03:26:11ZengElsevierEnvironmental Advances2666-76572022-07-018100249Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumersAmanda L. Dawson0Joan Y.Q. Li1Frederieke J. Kroon2Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Townsville, Qld, 4810, Australia; AIMS@JCU, Division of Research and Innovation, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia; Corresponding author at: CSIRO Agriculture and Food, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, QLD 4067, AustraliaAIMS@JCU, Division of Research and Innovation, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia; College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University Townsville, Bebegu Yumba Campus, Townsville, QLD, 4811, AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Townsville, Qld, 4810, Australia; College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University Townsville, Bebegu Yumba Campus, Townsville, QLD, 4811, AustraliaSeafood accounts for more than 17% of the global consumption of animal protein, with an excess of 335000 t consumed in Australia throughout 2019-2020. Recently, the presence of microplastics (MPs) within commercial seafood and the potential vectorisation of MPs to human consumers has become a significant concern for the public and the scientific community. Here, four commonly harvested wild-caught marine organisms were assessed for MP presence. These species comprise a significant proportion of the Queensland seafood industry, as well as being highly desirable to Australian consumers. The edible muscle tissue and discarded digestive tissue (GIT) of barramundi (Lates calcifer), coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), blue leg king prawns (Melicertus latisulcatus), and Ballot's saucer scallops (Ylistrum balloti), were analysed discretely to determine the extent to which these species may be contaminated in the wild (GIT tissue), and the extent to which they themselves may act as a vector for human exposure (edible muscle tissue). Wild-caught seafood was predominantly free of MPs, with digestive tissues from two of ten coral trout containing only two fibres each. All wild-caught muscle tissue samples were free of MPs, as was the GIT of scallops, prawns, and barramundi. On the other hand, fresh, skinless barramundi muscle tissues, purchased from various commercial suppliers, were examined and found to be significantly contaminated with MPs (0.02 - 0.19 MP g-1). Overall, these results highlight the growing consensus that food can become contaminated simply by being prepared in the human environment, and the focus must shift to determining the extent of MP proliferation within the processing and point-of-sale environment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765722000849Limits of detectionLODLimits of quantification LOQPlasticFishCrustacean
spellingShingle Amanda L. Dawson
Joan Y.Q. Li
Frederieke J. Kroon
Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
Environmental Advances
Limits of detection
LOD
Limits of quantification LOQ
Plastic
Fish
Crustacean
title Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
title_full Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
title_fullStr Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
title_full_unstemmed Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
title_short Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers
title_sort plastics for dinner store bought seafood but not wild caught from the great barrier reef as a source of microplastics to human consumers
topic Limits of detection
LOD
Limits of quantification LOQ
Plastic
Fish
Crustacean
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765722000849
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AT frederiekejkroon plasticsfordinnerstoreboughtseafoodbutnotwildcaughtfromthegreatbarrierreefasasourceofmicroplasticstohumanconsumers