Infants who are bottle-fed may ingest over 1 million microplastic particles daily. This is the result of a new study by Irish scientists published in the journal Nature Food.
The team of scientists studied the amount of microplastics released from 10 types of baby bottles and other items made of polypropylene – the most commonly used plastic for food containers. They followed official World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for cleaning, sterilizing, and preparing formula. After 21 days of experimentation, the researchers found that the bottles released approximately 1.3 to 16.2 million microplastic particles per liter. Using this data and based on the average rate of breastfeeding, the team developed a model to estimate the amount of microplastics that infants worldwide might ingest from bottle-feeding. The results showed that bottle-fed infants could consume an average of 1.6 million microplastic particles per day during their first 12 months of life.
The researchers explained that sterilization and exposure to hot water were the biggest factors causing bottles to release high amounts of microplastics, ranging from 0.6 million particles/liter at an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius to 55 million particles/liter at 95 degrees Celsius. According to this study, infants in developed countries are at the highest risk of consuming microplastics: 2.3 million particles/day in North America and 2.6 million in Europe. The reason is the relatively low rate of breastfeeding in affluent countries.
To reduce the amount of microplastics entering an infant’s body, researchers suggest that parents can take some simple steps, such as washing or sterilizing bottles with cold sterilized water, and preparing formula in non-plastic containers before pouring it into a baby bottle.
Microplastics Found in Breast Milk
October 11, 2022, marked the first time microplastics were discovered in breast milk, sending shockwaves around the world. This study was published in the journal Polymers. Specifically, scientists found microplastic fragments – including polyethylene, PVC, and polypropylene – in 76% of milk samples taken from 34 healthy mothers one week after giving birth in Rome, Italy.
Most mothers consumed food and drinks in plastic packaging, and used personal hygiene products containing plastic, but the research team did not find a direct link to the presence of microplastics. This suggests the ubiquitous nature of microplastics in the environment makes “human exposure unavoidable.” Microplastics are small plastic particles less than 5mm, which have toxic effects on human and animal cells, but their specific impact on health is still not well understood.
“The presence of microplastics in breast milk increases our concern for this extremely vulnerable population of infants. It is crucial to consider solutions to reduce exposure to this chemical contaminant during pregnancy and lactation. However, it must be emphasized that the benefits of breastfeeding still far outweigh any harm caused by the presence of microplastics,” said Dr. Valentina Notarstefano, co-author of the study at the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy.
The research team has not yet been able to identify risk factors related to microplastics in breast milk, but Notarstefano advises pregnant women to pay more attention to food and drinks packaged in plastic, as well as clothes made of synthetic fabrics and cosmetics containing microplastics.
“Our studies do not detract from breastfeeding; instead, they aim to raise public awareness to pressure politicians to promote legislation to reduce pollution,” Notarstefano noted.
Despite only being discovered in 2004, microplastics have become ubiquitous, found everywhere from deep oceans, Arctic and Antarctic ice, food and beverages, to human and animal bodies. These tiny fragments can take decades or more to fully decompose.