ArticleEFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority2016
Presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, with particular focus on seafood.
Article in EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 226 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
226 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Micro- and nanoplastics in human biological materials: a systematic review of detection methods and methodological challenges.Archives of toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Micro and Nanoplastics and Obstetric Outcomes in Humans and Animals: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Pooled it
- Enteric Nervous System Damage by Food Contaminants: A Pathway to Neurodegeneration?Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026Pooled it
- Advances in Male Reproductive Toxicology of Nanoplastics: Potential Risks to Human Reproduction-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Global research trends and mechanistic pathways linking micro- and nano plastics exposure to metabolic health: a bibliometric and evidence-mapping analysis (2013-2025).Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Nanoplastics and Immune Disruption: A Systematic Review of Exposure Routes, Mechanisms, and Health Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Invisible invaders: unveiling the carcinogenic threat of microplastics and nanoplastics in colorectal cancer-a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Review
- Perinatal exposure to nano-polystyrene: deleterious imprinting on inflammatory bowel diseases.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2026Article
- Article
- Microplastics in the Female Genital Tract and Fetoplacental Continuum: A Lesion-Based Framework for Pathophysiological Interpretation.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
- Challenges and solutions in the analysis of micro- and nanoplastics down to 500 nm with automated Raman microspectroscopy: suitable filters, accuracy in the detection, identification, and quantification.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2026Article
- Dietary Microplastic Exposure in Athletes: Implications for Metabolism, Gut Health, and Performance.Nutrients · 2026Review
- The Opposite Roles of Benzo[Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- In Vivo Microplastic Detection With Photoacoustic Imaging.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Review
- Article
- Microplastics in Foods Intended for Health Purposes: From Dietary Supplements to Clinical Nutrition Products.Toxics · 2026Review
- Review
- Exposure to polylactic acid microplastics during puberty increases the risk of skeletal dysplasia by disrupting arachidonic acid metabolism in osteoblasts.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2026Article
166 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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 for identification and quantification of microplastics in food, including seafood. Occurrence data are limited. In contrast to microplastics no methods or occurrence data in food are available for nanoplastics. Microplastics can contain on average 4% of additives and the plastics can adsorb contaminants. Both additives and contaminants can be of organic as well of inorganic nature. Based on a conservative estimate the presence of microplastics in seafood would have a small effect on the overall exposure to additives or contaminants. Toxicity and toxicokinetic data are lacking for both microplastics and nanoplastics for a human risk assessment. It is recommended that analytical methods should be further developed for microplastics and developed for nanoplastics and standardised, in order to assess their presence, identity and to quantify their amount in food. Furthermore, quality assurance should be in place and demonstrated. For microplastics and nanoplastics, occurrence data in food, including effects of food processing, in particular, for the smaller sized particles (< 150 μm) should be generated. Research on the toxicokinetics and toxicity, including studies on local effects in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, are needed as is research on the degradation of microplastics and potential formation of nanoplastics in the human GI tract.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.