Most of our food ‘is contaminated’

MOST of the food we eat and drink is likely to be contaminated with microplastics, leading scientists warned last night.

Dr Andrew Mayes, of the University of East Anglia, said: ‘It shouldn’t be a surprise to people that everything they eat, drink, touch, is contaminated with tiny particles.’

Plastic had been seen as a ‘wonderful new product’ but only after years of extensive use ‘did it begin to dawn on people that it was the tip of an environmental disaster iceberg’, he added.

Dr Natalie Welden, who led the Mail’s research, said although airborne microplastics have been shown to affect items displayed on counters, processed food could be even more at risk. Each stage of the production process could lead to the fragments being trapped in the food, she added.

‘Generally it’s going to be something that, whether at the supermarket or in your home, it’s something that’s very difficult to control,’ said Dr Welden.

Dr Mayes helped devise a study for the World Health Organisation which found microplastics in bottled water.

He said this was ‘just the start’, adding: ‘If we look at other food and drink sources, I would expect to find similar results. We don’t know what we’ve done to ourselves.’