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Episode Transcription
Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute from Washington State University Extension.
Around the world, researchers keep our food systems safe. German scientists found a threat to our food chain. Clumps of algae named Melosira arctica trap microplastics found in the ocean. It grows quickly in the spring and summer. When the algae cells die, the clumps sink thousands of feet in the ocean in twenty-four hours.
Fish consume algae as food. We eat the fish, microplastics are passed along to us in the food chain. Microplastics include polyethylene, polyester, nylon, and acrylic which accumulate in our bodies. Microplastics have already been detected in blood, intestines, and breast milk. While more research needs to occur, microplastics may cause inflammatory reactions. Currently, in the United Nations, a global plastics agreement is being negotiated.
Thanks for listening, I’m Susie Craig.
Resources
Science News. Microplastics Found in ‘Heavily Contaminated’ Artic Ice Algae, Posing Threat to Food
Chains. 4/21/23. Accessed online 9/12/23.