Microplastics in the Food Chain

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 16946

Special Issue Editors


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Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, 581243 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: environmental and food microbiology; antibiotic resistance; molecular biology
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Guest Editor
Faculty of Nursing and Professional Health Studies, Slovak Medical University, 83303 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: biology; environmental studies; biochemistry; cytology; nutrition; comparative toxicology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microplastics in the environment represent a new type of pollutant. It is known that microplastics can play the role of carrier for various drugs, biocides, and metals, but they can also carry microorganisms. At the same time, it has been shown that the close interaction between chemical contaminants and bacteria on microplastics can facilitate the horizontal transfer of resistance genes, thereby accelerating and spreading microbial resistance to antibiotics. The presence of microplastics in the environment, as well as the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, represents an ongoing problem for many societies.

In this Special Issue, we seek to cover the mapping of microplastics in the food chain. Thus, contributions which address all the latest methodological proposals, procedures, and methods concerning microplastics, from their source in wastewater, through the food chain, to humans themselves, are welcome. Papers which discuss antibiotic resistance in model bacteria will also be accepted.

Dr. Lucia Bírošová
Dr. Martina Valachovičová
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • microplastics
  • biochemistry
  • food microbiology
  • environmental microbiology
  • molecular biology
  • the food chain
  • antibiotic resistance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

18 pages, 1358 KiB  
Review
Microplastics in the Food Chain
by Klára Cverenkárová, Martina Valachovičová, Tomáš Mackuľak, Lukáš Žemlička and Lucia Bírošová
Life 2021, 11(12), 1349; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121349 - 6 Dec 2021
Cited by 113 | Viewed by 16207
Abstract
Currently, microplastics represent a widespread contamination found in almost every part of the environment. The plastic industry has generated waste since the 1950s, which unfortunately now counts in the millions. The largest share of plastic consumption is used to produce packaging materials, including [...] Read more.
Currently, microplastics represent a widespread contamination found in almost every part of the environment. The plastic industry has generated waste since the 1950s, which unfortunately now counts in the millions. The largest share of plastic consumption is used to produce packaging materials, including those applied in the food industry. The versatility of plastic materials is mainly due to their lightness, flexibility, strength, and persistence. Although plastic materials are widely used due to their beneficial properties, contamination of the environment with microplastics and nanoplastics is an emerging problem worldwide. This type of contamination is endangering animal life and thus also the food chain and public health. This review summarizes the knowledge about microplastics in the food chain. The effect of microplastics on the food chain has been particularly studied in marine organisms, and research deals less with other food commodities. Therefore, based on the studied literature, we can conclude that the issue is still not sufficiently examined, and should be paid more attention to maintain the health of the population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microplastics in the Food Chain)
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