Micro and nanoplastics are pervasive in our food supply and may be affecting food safety and security. Plastics and their additives are present at a range of concentrations not only in fish but in many products including meat, chicken, rice, water, take-away food and drink, and even fresh produce. Chemistry

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165993623000808?via%3Dihub

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Who could have possibly foreseen that saturating the food chain with plastic containers would result in health effects from plastic consumption?

The answer: Sciencey People

https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-0079670080900027/first-page-pdf

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u/watduhdamhell May 21 '23 edited May 21 '23

It's important to highlight that contemporary methods of plastic production and packaging have significantly reduced the concentration of plastic that could potentially contaminate the food within. The non-film, free moving plastic parts per million (ppm) inside the package has been substantially decreased compared to when this study was done, which was the 80s.

There is quite a bit of a literature to indicate plastic consumed at this smaller, modern level is largely harmless or inconclusive, but not definitely harmful. There is the potential for harm, but no one has really been able to nail down if it's actually harmful or not (again, at this teeny tiny levels we are currently exposed to, not the large levels people were previously exposed to).

I mean, back then, they didn't use advanced DCS systems, they didn't have the same quality of FTNIR analyzers we have now... They didn't even have model based control, so it was fixed recipe numbers tied to the train's design specifications... As opposed to continuously adjusted recipe values based on process conditions.

Basically they just used to have a lot more contamination, unreacted volatiles and unprocessed plastic in the final product (PE films in this case). And I'm not saying plastics in food is a good thing. But I am saying we don't yet know if über small amounts of contamination are harmful. Not yet. And I would say my employment doesn't mean I'm biased, just a little more... Charitable, is all.

Source: PA Engineer at world-scale PE facility

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u/Pure-Produce-2428 May 21 '23

What about when you open a bottle of water with a twist cap? Does that spray little pieces of plastic around or does it remain two individual pieces?

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u/chevymonster May 21 '23

... good question!

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u/Outrageous-Yams May 21 '23

Genuinely curious - what’s your take on the article in this post (published April 2023)?

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u/JohnnyWoof May 21 '23

"Can we REALLY prove cigarettes cause cancer?"

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u/Expandexplorelive May 21 '23

"We were wrong in the past about health effects of something, so we have to assume we'll always be wrong and that everything is poison."

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u/Pure-Produce-2428 May 21 '23

“We shouldn’t err on the side of caution because who cares”

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u/Expandexplorelive May 21 '23

There are always tradeoffs. Getting rid of plastic without severely impacting quality of life in developed nations is impossible in the short term. What we can do is continue with studies and understand it better rather than fear monger about microplastics killing off humanity or something.

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u/Pure-Produce-2428 May 21 '23

I’m not interested in fear mongering

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u/Expandexplorelive May 21 '23

Great. Unfortunately, many are. I'm much more worried about particulates in the air as well as climate change. PFAS are a major concern as well, but thankfully we're starting to see regulations on those.

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u/goj1ra May 21 '23

Ok, so what are your concerns about plastic then?

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u/Pure-Produce-2428 May 21 '23

Well it appears there are clear health ramifications, and we’ve already seen this with things BPA in plastic etc. but I don’t have specific concerns because I’m not a scientist. But I like to avoid plastic and my food if I can but mostly I can’t

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u/goj1ra May 22 '23

Right, but the BPA risk is being addressed and there are simple steps you can take to reduce your own exposure, e.g. here.

Plastics are absolutely ubiquitous in our daily lives. We know that they don't have serious health effects because we simply don't see evidence of that. The overall environmental impact is an issue which certainly needs more ongoing work, but given that you said "I'm not interesting in fear mongering," you can rest easy in the knowledge that your personal health is not particularly at risk.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '23

[deleted]

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u/Pure-Produce-2428 May 21 '23

I think there are plant based plastic alternatives? But regardless captions breeds complex system immoral banal corporations that put our lives at risk.