Microplastics have been recently detected in many environmental media and living organisms, yet their transfer and toxicity to humans are poorly known. Here, we review microplastic transfer in the food chain with focus on microplastic pollution sources, methods to analyze microplastics in food, health impact of food-related microplastic exposure, and remediation of microplastic pollution. Microplastic pollution sources include seafood, food additives, packaging materials, and agricultural and industrial products. Remediation techniques comprise the use of microbial enzymes and biofilms. Microplastic detection methods in food rely on separation and quantification by optical detection, scanning electron micrography, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Human health impact following microplastic ingestion include cancers, organ and respiration damage, and reproductive impairments. Overall, microplastic toxicity is mainly due to their ability to enter the metabolism, adsorption into the circulatory system for translocation, and difficulty, if not impossibility, of excretion.

最近在许多环境介质和生物体中发现了微塑料，但它们对人类的转移和毒性却知之甚少。在此，我们回顾了食物链中的微塑料转移，重点关注微塑料污染源、食品中微塑料的分析方法、食品相关微塑料暴露对健康的影响以及微塑料污染的修复。微塑料污染源包括海产品、食品添加剂、包装材料、农工业产品等。修复技术包括使用微生物酶和生物膜。食品中的微塑料检测方法依赖于光学检测、扫描电子显微摄影和傅里叶变换红外光谱的分离和定量。摄入微塑料对人类健康造成的影响包括癌症、器官和呼吸损伤以及生殖障碍。总体而言，微塑料的毒性主要是由于它们能够进入新陈代谢、吸附到循环系统中进行移位，以及排泄的困难（如果不是不可能的话）。