Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil
Microplastics are practically ubiquitous contaminants in all environments on the planet. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate microplastic contamination in lettuce, chives, and cilantro sold in Itacoatiara, Central Amazon, Brazil. Samples of each vegetable were acquired from different co...
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Associação Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Revista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais |
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| Online Access: | https://www.rbciamb.com.br/Publicacoes_RBCIAMB/article/view/2244 |
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| author | Humberto Cesar Siqueira Staffen Gabriel dos Anjos Guimarães Gustavo Yomar Hattori Bruno Sampaio Sant'Anna |
| author_facet | Humberto Cesar Siqueira Staffen Gabriel dos Anjos Guimarães Gustavo Yomar Hattori Bruno Sampaio Sant'Anna |
| author_sort | Humberto Cesar Siqueira Staffen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microplastics are practically ubiquitous contaminants in all environments on the planet. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate microplastic contamination in lettuce, chives, and cilantro sold in Itacoatiara, Central Amazon, Brazil. Samples of each vegetable were acquired from different commercial establishments. The samples were washed with filtered distilled water to remove any particles present on the surface of the vegetables. Hydrogen peroxide was added to the water used to wash the vegetables to digest organic materials. The solution was stirred daily and kept in an oven at 60°C. The microplastic particles were separated using the density difference technique. In total, 247 microplastic particles were recorded. There was no significant difference in the number of microplastic particles per sample of the three types of vegetables. The size of the microplastic particles also did not differ significantly between the types of vegetables, with the smallest (0.067 mm) and largest (4.865 mm) particles being found in lettuce. The proportion of microplastic colors recorded on the vegetables varied significantly. Blue and red particles were predominant, with a greater abundance of blue particles (n=207; 83.8%). There was a significant difference in the proportion of microplastic particle formats, with fibers (n=235; 95.1%) being more representative than fragments (n=12; 4.9%). Thus, it can be confirmed that the vegetables sold in Itacoatiara, Central Amazon are contaminated, consequently unsafe for direct human consumption, and require washing with plenty of running water to eliminate microplastic particles before being consumed fresh. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3bf38bdfdfff4d56ad1f972f22058961 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1808-4524 2176-9478 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Associação Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais |
| spelling | doaj-art-3bf38bdfdfff4d56ad1f972f220589612025-08-20T03:53:47ZengAssociação Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitária e AmbientalRevista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais1808-45242176-94782025-04-0160e2244e224410.5327/Z2176-947822441891Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), BrazilHumberto Cesar Siqueira Staffen0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1716-9404Gabriel dos Anjos Guimarães1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4491-9727Gustavo Yomar Hattori2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0352-9308Bruno Sampaio Sant'Anna3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9689-4894Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM) - BrazilUniversidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM) - BrazilUniversidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM) - BrazilUniversidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM) - BrazilMicroplastics are practically ubiquitous contaminants in all environments on the planet. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate microplastic contamination in lettuce, chives, and cilantro sold in Itacoatiara, Central Amazon, Brazil. Samples of each vegetable were acquired from different commercial establishments. The samples were washed with filtered distilled water to remove any particles present on the surface of the vegetables. Hydrogen peroxide was added to the water used to wash the vegetables to digest organic materials. The solution was stirred daily and kept in an oven at 60°C. The microplastic particles were separated using the density difference technique. In total, 247 microplastic particles were recorded. There was no significant difference in the number of microplastic particles per sample of the three types of vegetables. The size of the microplastic particles also did not differ significantly between the types of vegetables, with the smallest (0.067 mm) and largest (4.865 mm) particles being found in lettuce. The proportion of microplastic colors recorded on the vegetables varied significantly. Blue and red particles were predominant, with a greater abundance of blue particles (n=207; 83.8%). There was a significant difference in the proportion of microplastic particle formats, with fibers (n=235; 95.1%) being more representative than fragments (n=12; 4.9%). Thus, it can be confirmed that the vegetables sold in Itacoatiara, Central Amazon are contaminated, consequently unsafe for direct human consumption, and require washing with plenty of running water to eliminate microplastic particles before being consumed fresh.https://www.rbciamb.com.br/Publicacoes_RBCIAMB/article/view/2244contamination by plastic; plant foods; plastics in food |
| spellingShingle | Humberto Cesar Siqueira Staffen Gabriel dos Anjos Guimarães Gustavo Yomar Hattori Bruno Sampaio Sant'Anna Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil Revista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais contamination by plastic; plant foods; plastics in food |
| title | Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil |
| title_full | Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil |
| title_short | Microplastics in plant-based foods in the city of Itacoatiara (AM), Brazil |
| title_sort | microplastics in plant based foods in the city of itacoatiara am brazil |
| topic | contamination by plastic; plant foods; plastics in food |
| url | https://www.rbciamb.com.br/Publicacoes_RBCIAMB/article/view/2244 |
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