Seafood study finds plastic in all samples

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/uoe-ssf081220.php

 

 

News Release 12-Aug-2020
University of Exeter

 

 

A study of five different seafoods has found traces of plastic in every sample tested.

Researchers bought oysters, prawns, squid, crabs and sardines from a market in Australia and analysed them using a newly developed method that identifies and measures five different plastic types simultaneously.

The study - by the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland - found plastic levels of 0.04 milligrams (mg) per gram of tissue in squid, 0.07mg in prawns, 0.1mg in oysters, 0.3mg in crabs and 2.9mg in sardines.

"Considering an average serving, a seafood eater could be exposed to approximately 0.7mg of plastic when ingesting an average serving of oysters or squid, and up to 30mg of plastic when eating sardines, respectively," said lead author Francisca Ribeiro, a QUEX Institute PhD student.

"For comparison, 30mg is the average weight of a grain of rice. 

•••••