MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. John Boland
AMBER The SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research,
CRANN, and Trinity’s School of Chemistry
Prof. Liwen Xiao at TrinityHaus and Trinity’s School of Engineering
Trinity College Dublin
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is growing evidence to suggest that micro and nano plastics are released into our food and water sources through the chemical and physical degradation of larger plastic items. Some studies have demonstrated the potential transfer of micro and nano plastics from oceans to humans via the food chain
but little is known about the direct release of microplastics (MPs) from plastic products through everyday use – and this is what we wanted to investigate.
Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most commonly produced plastics in the world for food preparation and storage. It is used to make everyday items such as lunch boxes, kettles and infant-feeding bottles (IFBs). Despite its widespread use the capacity of PP to release microplastics was not appreciated until now.
We analysed the potential for release of MPs from polypropylene infant-feeding bottles (PP-IFBs) during formula preparation by following international guidelines. We also estimated the exposure of 12-month-old infants to MPs in 48 countries and regions.
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