Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
【July 6, 2016, Taipei】
Greenpeace today revealed alarming findings simultaneously in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea: plastic pollution has spread to the seafood people commonly consume, particularly fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. These plastics accumulated in seafood often carry toxic substances, including plasticizers, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). When consuming seafood, people also ingest these endocrine-disrupting, reproductive-system-harming, and potentially carcinogenic toxins.
From 2002 to 2013, global plastic production surged to 299 million tons. It is estimated that plastics account for 60-80% of marine litter worldwide, with approximately 8 million tons of plastic entering the oceans annually. Last year, data suggested there could be around 50 trillion plastic fragments in the global oceans. Each floating piece of plastic may further break down into hundreds or thousands of "microplastics" due to weathering or sunlight exposure. These microplastics, smaller than 5 millimeters, can adsorb and release toxic substances. They are often mistaken for food by marine plankton or shellfish, entering the food chain and accumulating in higher-level predators, amplifying toxins and leading to severe ecological and environmental pollution issues, indirectly affecting human health.
Field investigations found that 36.5% of fish sampled from trawlers in the English Channel contained plastic, while 18.2% of swordfish, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and albacore tuna sampled from the central Mediterranean showed plastic fragments. In the Clyde Sea, 83% of Norway lobsters had plastic fibers in their stomachs. Additionally, brown mussels from the Santos Estuary in Brazil and Mytilus edulis from China's coast were found to contain microplastics. Mytilus edulis from the North Sea and Crassostrea gigas oysters from the Atlantic also tested positive for microplastics—all commonly consumed seafood.
Large plastic debris has long been known to suffocate seabirds and marine life or remain in their digestive systems, causing malnutrition or death. However, microplastics pose an even greater and longer-lasting threat. Yen Ning, Greenpeace's Ocean Project Director, stated: "Microplastics easily absorb and release toxic chemicals and can transfer through the food chain. As apex predators, we ingest these toxic substances when eating seafood. Taiwan currently lacks relevant research, making it impossible to ensure seafood safety, potentially creating another food safety loophole."
Besides originating from the breakdown of larger plastics, some microplastics are intentionally manufactured, such as plastic microbeads commonly added to personal care or exfoliating products. These microbeads, smaller than 5 millimeters, mostly made of plastic, bypass wastewater filtration systems and flow directly into the ocean, becoming the smallest yet most potent marine killers. The U.S. has passed the "Microbead-Free Waters Act," banning the production of personal care products containing plastic microbeads starting July 1, 2017. Earlier this year, Greenpeace UK began lobbying the government to ban solid microplastics, garnering 300,000 petition signatures calling for a prohibition on plastic microbeads in toothpaste, laundry detergent, facial scrubs, and other daily products. This led the UK government to announce in early June its intention to legislate a manufacturing ban.The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) proposed a complete ban on plastic microbeads in its 2015 report "Plastics in Cosmetics: Are We Polluting the Environment Through Our Personal Care?" When will Taiwan announce its timeline for the ban? Dr. Yen Tsung-hai from the Department of Toxicology at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital also believes that considering these plastic microbeads enter the marine food chain and are closely related to public dietary habits, posing potential health risks, the authorities should address this issue seriously.
Although it is currently only confirmed that seafood contains "microplastics" and the toxic substances they absorb, with no direct evidence proving harm to human health, we need to raise food safety awareness and prevent seafood from becoming a culprit in food safety issues. Greenpeace recommends that the government not only accelerate the ban on plastic microbeads but also immediately begin research, draft relevant regulations, and take preventive measures under the precautionary principle to safeguard public dietary safety. Meanwhile, manufacturers of cleaning products and cosmetics should follow global trends by voluntarily ceasing production of products containing plastic microbeads, fulfilling their corporate social responsibility to protect consumer and environmental health.
Source: http:/ / www. greenpeace. org/ ta……/ oceans/ 2016/ seafood- review/
Did You Eat Plastic Seafood Today?
Greenpeace today revealed alarming findings simultaneously in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea: plastic pollution has spread to the seafood people commonly consume, particularly fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. These plastics accumulated in seafood often carry toxic substances, including plasticizers, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). When consuming seafood, people also ingest these endocrine-disrupting, reproductive-system-harming, and potentially carcinogenic toxins.
From 2002 to 2013, global plastic production surged to 299 million tons. It is estimated that plastics account for 60-80% of marine litter worldwide, with approximately 8 million tons of plastic entering the oceans annually. Last year, data suggested there could be around 50 trillion plastic fragments in the global oceans. Each floating piece of plastic may further break down into hundreds or thousands of "microplastics" due to weathering or sunlight exposure. These microplastics, smaller than 5 millimeters, can adsorb and release toxic substances. They are often mistaken for food by marine plankton or shellfish, entering the food chain and accumulating in higher-level predators, amplifying toxins and leading to severe ecological and environmental pollution issues, indirectly affecting human health.
Field investigations found that 36.5% of fish sampled from trawlers in the English Channel contained plastic, while 18.2% of swordfish, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and albacore tuna sampled from the central Mediterranean showed plastic fragments. In the Clyde Sea, 83% of Norway lobsters had plastic fibers in their stomachs. Additionally, brown mussels from the Santos Estuary in Brazil and Mytilus edulis from China's coast were found to contain microplastics. Mytilus edulis from the North Sea and Crassostrea gigas oysters from the Atlantic also tested positive for microplastics—all commonly consumed seafood.
Large plastic debris has long been known to suffocate seabirds and marine life or remain in their digestive systems, causing malnutrition or death. However, microplastics pose an even greater and longer-lasting threat. Yen Ning, Greenpeace's Ocean Project Director, stated: "Microplastics easily absorb and release toxic chemicals and can transfer through the food chain. As apex predators, we ingest these toxic substances when eating seafood. Taiwan currently lacks relevant research, making it impossible to ensure seafood safety, potentially creating another food safety loophole."
Besides originating from the breakdown of larger plastics, some microplastics are intentionally manufactured, such as plastic microbeads commonly added to personal care or exfoliating products. These microbeads, smaller than 5 millimeters, mostly made of plastic, bypass wastewater filtration systems and flow directly into the ocean, becoming the smallest yet most potent marine killers. The U.S. has passed the "Microbead-Free Waters Act," banning the production of personal care products containing plastic microbeads starting July 1, 2017. Earlier this year, Greenpeace UK began lobbying the government to ban solid microplastics, garnering 300,000 petition signatures calling for a prohibition on plastic microbeads in toothpaste, laundry detergent, facial scrubs, and other daily products. This led the UK government to announce in early June its intention to legislate a manufacturing ban.The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) proposed a complete ban on plastic microbeads in its 2015 report "Plastics in Cosmetics: Are We Polluting the Environment Through Our Personal Care?" When will Taiwan announce its timeline for the ban? Dr. Yen Tsung-hai from the Department of Toxicology at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital also believes that considering these plastic microbeads enter the marine food chain and are closely related to public dietary habits, posing potential health risks, the authorities should address this issue seriously.
Although it is currently only confirmed that seafood contains "microplastics" and the toxic substances they absorb, with no direct evidence proving harm to human health, we need to raise food safety awareness and prevent seafood from becoming a culprit in food safety issues. Greenpeace recommends that the government not only accelerate the ban on plastic microbeads but also immediately begin research, draft relevant regulations, and take preventive measures under the precautionary principle to safeguard public dietary safety. Meanwhile, manufacturers of cleaning products and cosmetics should follow global trends by voluntarily ceasing production of products containing plastic microbeads, fulfilling their corporate social responsibility to protect consumer and environmental health.
Source: http:/ / www. greenpeace. org/ ta……/ oceans/ 2016/ seafood- review/