@conference{
author = "Mutić, Tamara and Anđelković, Boban and Stanić-Vučinić, Dragana and Turkalj, Mirjana and Ilić, Miloš and Ćirković Veličković, Tanja",
year = "2023",
abstract = "Seafood has been widely recognized as an integral part of a balanced and healthy diet, thanks to its high nutritional value and associated multiple health benefits. Seafood contamination with microplastics (MPs) have recently been highlighted as an emerging concern for global food security.1
According to definition, polymer particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm are referred to as microplastics particles (MPs)2. Most bivalves, as well as mussels, are filter feeders and can accumulate particles in their bodies. By consuming seafood, MP particles can be included in the human food chain. Most of the studies analyzed MPs content in environmental samples, instead of point-of-sales samples.
The aim of this study was to determine the abundance of microplastics in mussels collected from Croatia seafood market intended for human consumption. 5 clean laboratory criteria (100% cotton lab coat, clean glassware, filtered solutions, rinsed the outside of animals before dissection, and limited air exposure of samples) were fulfilled by our study. Digestion and manipulation of the sample was conducted in a clean hood. Procedural controls were included for each measurement. After extensive removal of biological material by alkaline, enzymatic and oxidation digestion, MPs were characterized by micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (Micro-FTIR). It is a proven method for the identification of all types of polymers and allows a reliable differentiation between substances of natural and synthetic origin. Our approach included one individual per sample for micro-FTIR analysis, no sub-grouping of the sample for chemical characterization (100% of particles isolated from each sample have been analyzed by micro- FTIR) and manual confirmation of all recorded spectra with more than 60% match to the polymer material in the spectral library (Thermo-Fisher; using the OMNIC PictaTM software). Soft tissue from inside the shell was not extensively washed to allow estimation of MPs intake during consumption.
Almost half of total samples (sample size=27) did not contain microplastic particles (52%). The highest number of particles per individual was 4 (Fig. 1). In total, we found 23 MPs particles in 27 individuals or 0.85 MPs per individual, range 0-4, and less than 0.3 MPs/g of soft tissue. In this research, major types of isolated MPs were polystyrene
(PS), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), shown in Table 1. PE and PS are the most popular plastic materials used in consumer products and they have shorter service lives than other types of plastics.",
publisher = "Belgrade : Serbian Chemical Society",
journal = "Book of Abstracts of the XXII EuroFoodChem Congress, Belgrade, Serbia, 14-16 June 2023",
title = "Chemical characterization and quantification of microplastics particles from mussel samples based on Micro-FTIR spectroscopy",
pages = "281-281",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_cherry_6519"
}