Adsorption of microplastics to the edible Fucus vesiculosus and possible wash off before food application

Description

The growing demand for food accessibility, due to rapidly growing population of the world, has raised the interest of macroalgae as a food source also in the Western world. However, this combined with increased food awareness trigger a concern that accumulated microplastics in the oceans might pollute the seaweed and influence food safety and thereby applicability. One of the most common types of seaweed in Denmark is bladder wrack, Fucus vesiculosus (FC), and this specimen is also popular for the use in e.g. pesto and flour in Denmark. This study investigated if fluorescent polystyrene (PS) microplastic particles (diameter: 20 μm) adsorb to the macroalga FC and if they can be washed off afterwards with filtered seawater.

Period	22 Jun 2017
Held at	University of Nantes, France
Degree of Recognition	International