Plastic cutting boards as a source of microplastics in meat.

Habib, Rana Zeeshan; Poulose, Vijo; Alsaidi, Rana; al Kendi, Ruwaya; Iftikhar, Syed Haris; Mourad, Abdel-Hamid Ismail; Kittaneh, Wajeeh Fares; Thiemann, Thies

Plastic cutting boards were found to be the source of polythene microplastic contamination in cut meat commercially available at butchers and a supermarket chain in the Middle East, making them also a direct source of microplastic in wastewater. The mean size of the microplastic in the raw meat was 1279.2 ± 835.0 µm, but decreased when the meat was cooked or fried. The microplastic melted during both cooking and frying processes and recrystallised partially upon cooling. Washing the meat for a short time (10 seconds) before preparing it reduced the microplastic contamination insignificantly, and only extensive washing of the meat over longer periods of time (3 min) helped decrease the microplastic count to 0.07 MP/g meat. The composition of the cutting boards was analysed by FT-IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and subjected to wear, tensile and hardness tests. From a 3D photo of a spent cutting board, it was calculatedthat 875 g polythene was lost from the cutting board at the end of its lifetime.

MIDDLE East; PLASTIC marine debris; MICROPLASTICS; MEAT contamination; PLASTICS; DIFFERENTIAL scanning calorimetry; MEAT cuts; HARDNESS testing

Food Additives & Contaminants. Part A: Chemistry, Analysis, Control, Exposure & Risk Assessment, 2022, Vol 39, Issue 3, p609

1944-0049

Academic Journal

10.1080/19440049.2021.2017002