Plastics found ‘in all types of food’, CSIRO reveals

The CSIRO has sounded the alarm on how many tiny bits of plastic we consume with our food, with one researcher warning why you should never microwave anything in plastic.

Microplastics and nanoplastics are a topic of increasing concern from a human health point of view.

It’s not just fish: tiny plastic particles are now pervasive across our food supply, according to the CSIRO, raising massive questions about what impact these minuscule fragments have on human health.

In a report released on Friday, CSIRO researchers reveal they have found plastics in the meat, chicken, rice, water, takeaway food and drinks, and even fresh produce consumed by Australians every day.

The fragments they found are extremely small – microplastics can be up to 5mm and nanoplastics are no more than 0.0001mm – but that’s the exact problem.

At that size, there are concerns the fragments can enter the bloodstream and the cells of our bodies, and if they do so at sufficiently high concentrations, the health impacts could be significant.

An example of microplastics collected from Sydney’s Manly Cove. Picture: AUSMAP

“Size really matters, because if you have particles that are really small they can easily pass different barriers in the body such as the intestinal barrier, the small pores between the cells, and into your tissue,” said CSIRO analytical chemist Dr Jordi Nelis. “There’s also proof that nanoparticles can pass the blood barrier in mice and fish – so if it becomes really small then our body is not so adept at eliminating it.”

While earlier studies suggested Australians consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of plastic every week, nobody knows how much plastic you can have in your body before it becomes a problem.

CSIRO analytical chemist Dr Jordi Nelis. Picture: Supplied

Kate Noble, WWF-Australia’s No Plastics in Nature Policy Manager. Picture: Supplied

“It’s a global effort,” Dr Nelis said. “If we can measure at which levels toxicity levels really occur, then we can start thinking about setting up some safety measurements, like these are the maximum levels of microplastics than can be in drinking water or can be in food … get some proper regulation around that to protect the public.”

Dr Nelis said plastics enter the human food chain in numerous ways, including manufacturing processes, packaging and in home kitchens.

The CSIRO report comes just a few weeks before delegates from 170 countries meet in Paris to continue debate on a global plastics treaty, which could include a ban on all “intentional” microplastics, such as the tiny beads found in cosmetics, toothpaste and sunscreen.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called for governments around the world to back bans and phase-outs of unnecessary plastic items.

WWF-Australia’s plastics campaigner Kate Noble said there were high hopes that a global plastics treaty would be based on “twin pillars” – the protection of the natural environment, but also human health.

While the Paris delegates would be discussing a “really broad scope of chemicals and products” a ban on intentional microplastics “should be high on the do-able list,” she said.