Tests reveal all UK mussels sampled ingested plastic

TINY pieces of plastic and other debris have been found in all mussels sampled from around the UK coast and supermarkets, researchers have said.

In samples of wild mussels from eight coastal locations around the UK – including Cardiff – and those purchased from eight unnamed supermarkets, 100% were found to contain microplastics or other debris such as cotton and rayon.

There is “significant and widespread” contamination by microplastics and other debris from human activity in coastal seawater samples, coastal mussels and supermarket-bought mussels in the UK, the study said.

Scientists from the University of Hull and Brunel University London said the results showed microplastics consumption by people eating seafood in the UK was likely to be “common and widespread”.

Every 100 grams of mussels eaten contains an estimated 70 pieces of debris, according to the researchers, whose study is published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

There was more debris in the wild mussels, which were sampled from two sites in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Filey, Hastings, Brighton, Plymouth and Wallasey, than in the farmed mussels bought in shops.

Professor Jeanette Rotchell, of the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, said: “It is becoming increasingly evident that global contamination of the marine environment by microplastic is impacting wildlife and its entry into the food chain is providing a pathway for the waste that we dispose of to be returned to us through our diet.”