Researchers have detected microplastics in human breast milk for the very first time, causing grave concern for potential health risks on babies.
Scientists urged for further research as infants are especially vulnerable to the contaminants they are at high risk of ingesting, reports Tge Guardian.
The breast milk samples were taken from 34 healthy mothers, a week after giving birth in Rome, Italy. Microplastics were detected in 75% of them. Previous research has shown toxic effects of microplastics in human cell lines, lab animals and marine wildlife but the impact on living humans remains unknown.
The breast milk research, published in the journal Polymers, found microplastics composed of polyethylene, PVC and polypropylene, which are all found in packaging.
The researchers could not analyse particles smaller than 2 microns and smaller plastic particles are likely to be present.
The breast milk samples were collected, stored and analysed without the use of plastics and control samples were also processed to rule out contamination.
Plastics often contain harmful chemicals, such as phthalates, which have been found in breast milk before.
The scientists recorded the mothers' consumption of food and drink in plastic packaging and of seafood, as well as the use of plastic-containing personal hygiene products.
But they found no correlation with the presence of microplastics. This suggests the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in the environment "makes human exposure inevitable", the researchers said, although larger studies in future may identify particular risk factors.
The Italian team identified microplastics in human placentas in 2020. "So the proof of microplastics' presence in breast milk increases our great concern for the extremely vulnerable population of infants," said Dr Valentina Notarstefano, at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, in Ancona, Italy.
Other recent research revealed that bottle-fed babies are likely to be swallowing millions of microplastics a day and that cow's milk can contain microplastics.
