Bottle-fed babies swallow millions of microplastics a day, study finds

There is growing evidence that humans consume huge numbers of the tiny particles, formed when larger pieces of plastic break down, but very little is known about the knock-on health consequences.

The research also indicated a strong relationship between heat and the release of microplastics, such that warmer liquids result in far greater release.

The researchers involved were from AMBER, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research, TrinityHaus and the schools of engineering and chemistry at Trinity College Dublin.

Professor John Boland, of AMBER, CRANN, and Trinity’s School of Chemistry, said: “When we saw these results in the lab we recognised immediately the potential impact they might have. The last thing we want is to unduly alarm parents, particularly when we don’t have sufficient information on the potential consequences of microplastics on infant health.

“We are calling on policymakers, however, to reassess the current guidelines for formula preparation when using plastic infant feeding bottles.

“Crucially, we have found that it is possible to mitigate the risk of ingesting microplastics by changing practices around sterilisation and formula preparation.”

Professor Liwen Xiao, at TrinityHaus and Trinity’s school of engineering, said: “Previous research has predominantly focused on human exposure to micro and nanoplastics via transfer from ocean and soils into the food chain driven by the degradation of plastics in the environment.

“Our study indicates that daily use of plastic products is an important source of microplastic release, meaning that the routes of exposure are much closer to us than previously thought.

“We need to urgently assess the potential risks of microplastics to human health. Understanding their fate and transport through the body following ingestion is an important focus of future research.

“Determining the potential consequences of microplastics on our health is critical for the management of microplastic pollution.”