Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels
Terrestrial domestic animals are exposed to microplastics, therefore, contaminating the food chain, in the case of livestock, or acting as sentinels for human exposure, in the case of companion animals. The aim of this review was to address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals on human exp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/661 |
| _version_ | 1797622877886873600 |
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| author | Joana C. Prata Patrícia Dias-Pereira |
| author_facet | Joana C. Prata Patrícia Dias-Pereira |
| author_sort | Joana C. Prata |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Terrestrial domestic animals are exposed to microplastics, therefore, contaminating the food chain, in the case of livestock, or acting as sentinels for human exposure, in the case of companion animals. The aim of this review was to address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals on human exposure to microplastics. Animal products may already show some microplastics contamination, which may occur during their lifetime, possibly also compromising productivity, and during processing, originating from equipment and packaging. Moreover, release of microplastics in animal feces (or manure) leads to the contamination of agricultural fields, with possible impacts and internalization in plants. Therefore, microplastics pose a threat to food security, compromising food productivity, and food safety, by being a foreign material found in animal products. Conversely, in urban environments, companion animals (cats and dogs) may be relevant sentinels for human exposure. While oral exposure may vary in pets compared to humans, due to indiscriminate ingestion and chewing or licking behaviors, airborne exposure is likely to be a good indicator for human exposure. Therefore, future studies should address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals for human exposure of microplastics, both in the food chain and as sentinels for environmental exposure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:16:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f09c049320c345c093c600b749cfe27c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:16:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f09c049320c345c093c600b749cfe27c2023-11-16T18:39:46ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-02-0113466110.3390/ani13040661Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as SentinelsJoana C. Prata0Patrícia Dias-Pereira1TOXRUN—Toxicology Research Unit, CESPU, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), 3810-193 Gandra, PortugalDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Immunology, Institute for the Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, Porto University (ICBAS-UP), 4050-313 Porto, PortugalTerrestrial domestic animals are exposed to microplastics, therefore, contaminating the food chain, in the case of livestock, or acting as sentinels for human exposure, in the case of companion animals. The aim of this review was to address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals on human exposure to microplastics. Animal products may already show some microplastics contamination, which may occur during their lifetime, possibly also compromising productivity, and during processing, originating from equipment and packaging. Moreover, release of microplastics in animal feces (or manure) leads to the contamination of agricultural fields, with possible impacts and internalization in plants. Therefore, microplastics pose a threat to food security, compromising food productivity, and food safety, by being a foreign material found in animal products. Conversely, in urban environments, companion animals (cats and dogs) may be relevant sentinels for human exposure. While oral exposure may vary in pets compared to humans, due to indiscriminate ingestion and chewing or licking behaviors, airborne exposure is likely to be a good indicator for human exposure. Therefore, future studies should address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals for human exposure of microplastics, both in the food chain and as sentinels for environmental exposure.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/661plastic particlesforeign bodiesmicroplastics in biotapetscompanion animalsanimal sentinels |
| spellingShingle | Joana C. Prata Patrícia Dias-Pereira Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels Animals plastic particles foreign bodies microplastics in biota pets companion animals animal sentinels |
| title | Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels |
| title_full | Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels |
| title_fullStr | Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels |
| title_short | Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels |
| title_sort | microplastics in terrestrial domestic animals and human health implications for food security and food safety and their role as sentinels |
| topic | plastic particles foreign bodies microplastics in biota pets companion animals animal sentinels |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/661 |
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