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Microplastics shed by food packaging are contaminating our food and drink, study finds
Ripping the plastic wrap from the meat or prepackaged fruit and veggies you purchased at the grocery store may contaminate your food with micro- and nanoplastics, according to new research.
Plastic contamination may also occur when you’re unwrapping deli meat and cheese, steeping a tea bag in hot water, or opening cartons of milk or orange juice. Glass bottles and jars with a plastic-coated metal closure may also shed microscopic bits of plastic, the study found.
Human brain samples contain an entire spoon’s worth of nanoplastics, study says
Cognitively normal human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a new study.
Overall, cadaver brain samples contained seven to 30 times more tiny shards of plastic than their kidneys and liver, said co-lead study author Matthew Campen, Regents’ Professor and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.48% by weight,” Campen said.
That’s the equivalent of an entire standard plastic spoon, Campen said.
“Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” he said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”
Read the Report
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/03/health/plastics-inside-human-brain-wellness
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Our Founders
Marc Schechtman
Marc started teaching in 1975, after graduating from the University of Illinois. He served as a Chaplain's Assistant in the USAFR in 1969-71, stationed at Sewart AFB in Tennessee during the Vietnam War. Marc and his family have a wide range of experience in the food industry. They have been growers, brokers, packaged food producers, and wholesale operators. Today, Marc is dedicated to replacing petro-plastic food packaging with plant-based alternatives. He is a father of four and a grandfather.
Carl Christian Carstensen
Carl spent nearly forty years in a full range of executive positions at IBM in Europe. He's worked with Marc several times while he was at IBM. Carl has experience building teams, managing operations, and executing complex business plans. View his LinkedIn presentation. Carl and Marc have developed relationships with experienced biopolymer packaging engineers and packaging manufacturers with the necessary skills to accomplish our goals.