![\"arrow\"](\"https:\/\/resource.innovamarketinsights360.com\/fif\/banners\/123e92b8-59cd-4de8-a1ee-50ad92794807.webp\" "\\"arrow\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt found that every 100\u2013200 mg of microplastics carries approximately 50 mg of associated chemical exposure. \u201cYet current food-contact regulations largely account for neither particle release nor this combined exposure profile, despite all three originating from the same materials,\u201d states Earth Action.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, the debate around microplastics focused on pollution in the environment. Now we know of the direct pathway to human exposure through the food we eat every day,\u201d says Julien Boucher, PhD, head of research and co-CEO of Earth Action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis report identifies the scale of the problem but also points to the solutions. If policymakers and industry start treating particle release as a real safety consideration, alongside chemical migration, we have clear opportunities to reduce exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plastics causing disease<\/p>\n
The other study<\/a>, published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, has linked plastic particles to significant increases in liver disease, finding clear evidence that exposure to micro- and nanoplastics could trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis, and inflammation. The review study\u2019s findings apply to animals, but have features similar to advanced liver disease in humans.<\/p>\n \u201cLiver disease is rising globally and is now responsible for one in 25 deaths worldwide. While established risk factors such as obesity and harmful alcohol use remain central, they do not fully explain the scale or pace of this increase,\u201d says Shilpa Chokshi, professor of Experimental Hepatology and director of the Centre of Environmental Hepatology, UK.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has led us to consider additional environmental factors, including micro- and nanoplastics, which may interact with existing disease processes and amplify liver injury. There is already strong evidence that plastics can accumulate and cause harm in the livers of animals, raising an important question \u2014 why should humans be any different?\u201d<\/p>\n Disrupting nutrition<\/p>\n Earlier this month, a US Department of Health and Human Services agency launched a nationwide US$144 million microplastics research program<\/a>. It aims to create a toolbox for measuring, researching, and affordably removing microplastics and nanoplastics from the human body.<\/p>\nThe scientists say the liver acts as the body\u2019s first major firewall, as it detoxes and processes everything we consume.The scientists say the liver acts as the body\u2019s first major firewall, as it detoxes and processes everything we consume. This creates a significant potential for the plastic particles to enable the transportation of microbial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance determinants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and carcinogenic additives into the human system.<\/p>\n