Are you eating plastic?

For every 85 grams (3 ounces) of mussels you eat, you’re ingesting an estimated 70 particles of microplastic, a new study by the University of Hull and Brunel University London finds.
Researchers took samples of wild mussels from eight coastal locations around the UK and eight supermarkets. 100% of them contained microplastics and some contained other debris like cotton and rayon. Mussels eat by filtering seawater through their bodies, ingesting small particles of plastic along with their food.
Analysis shows around half of the debris found in the mussels was microplastics such as polyester and polythene and 37% was other debris including textiles such as cotton and rayon. Seafood is only one way humans ingest microplastics, as they’ve been found in other food sources and drinking water, and can even be inhaled, University of Hull environmental scientist Jeanette Rotchell said. Single-use plastic is responsible for nearly 90% of ocean pollution.
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