Marine Microplastics and Seafood: Implications for Food Security

Summary

Seafood is an important food source, and this chapter addresses the food safety concerns related to plastic particles in different seafood. Here we focus on those species which are commonly consumed by humans, such as bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods, echinoderms, crustaceans, and finfish. The objectives of this chapter are to (1) outline the major sources, fate, and transport dynamics of microplastics in marine ecosystems, (2) provide a critical assessment and synthesis of microplastics in seafood taxa commonly consumed by humans, (3) discuss the implications of microplastics with regard to human health risk assessments, and (4) suggest future research priorities and recommendations for assessing microplastics in marine ecosystems in the context of global food security and ocean and human health.