Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Alice Rush

This blog was written by Hannah De Frond, Ocean Conservancy Consultant and International Trash Trap Network Coordinator and Madeleine Milne, Ocean Conservancy Consultant and University of Toronto Graduate Student.

Factors like price, packaging and health value often influence what products people choose when walking down the aisle of a grocery store. What people may not be thinking about is something that we are surrounded by every day: microplastics—pieces of plastic less than five millimeters in size.

Microplastic pollution has been found in every ecosystem on Earth, from the depths of our ocean to remote mountain peaks. Microplastics have even been found in the air we breathe and the food we eat, meaning that humans consume microplastics daily. In fact, the saying “You are what you eat” rings true—microplastics have been detected in humans’ bodies (including in human blood, lungs and placentas).

These facts alone are scary to think about, and one big question is, “What does this mean for human health?” To answer this and inform risk assessments, we need to understand the amount of microplastics that humans are consuming on average and better understand the chemical and physical effects that microplastics can cause in the human body.

To date, most studies investigating microplastics in food items have focused on seafood (fish and shellfish), leaving other foods understudied. For example, terrestrial meats (beef, pork, chicken) have barely been studied, despite making up almost 90% of meat products in an average American diet. To fill this knowledge gap, Ocean Conservancy partnered with researchers from the Rochman Lab at the University of Toronto to study 16 commonly consumed protein products for microplastic contamination, ranging from fresh-caught fish to highly processed plant-based burgers. We purchased products directly from fishing boats and organic and conventional grocers and bought different brands of the same products to assess how these factors might influence microplastic contamination.

Microplastics were found in all 16 products tested and 88% of samples, including seafood, terrestrial proteins and meat-alternative products like tofu. On average, we found 74 microplastics per serving of any given protein. Through a survey of United States adults, we also collected data on average consumption patterns for the products analyzed to develop an estimate of annual microplastic exposure. Based on our results, we estimate that the average U.S. adult could consume up to 3.8 million microplastics annually from the combined average intake of 13 protein products.*

When different products were compared, greater microplastic contamination was found in highly processed products, suggesting that processing steps (e.g., cutting, introduction of other ingredients or packaging) may introduce plastic contamination into food. This shows that more research is needed to identify the sources of contamination from processing and inform actions to reduce it. We also found that microplastics are a concern for all consumers, no matter your diet or shopping preferences, as no differences were found between microplastic contamination in seafood, terrestrial and plant-based products, between different brands of the same product or even between conventional supermarkets and higher-end natural grocers.

The results of this study demonstrate that microplastics are widespread in our food system. It is not just a seafood issue; it is something that affects us all. We hope that the results of this work propel further research into microplastics in food products, including other proteins, fruits, vegetables and grains to gain a better understanding of microplastic consumption from our whole diet. Although it is important to pinpoint where microplastics in the food system are coming from, addressing the microplastic pollution crisis more broadly is one surefire way to make an impact. For example, microfibers were the most common shape of microplastic found across all samples, which suggests that efforts to reduce microfiber pollution, the installation of washing machine filters, for example, is one way to help mitigate this problem.

That’s why Ocean Conservancy is advocating for legislation at the local, state and federal levels to address microplastic pollution and reduce microplastic emissions to protect food safety and human health into the future. Read our full research paper here.

*Products included: breaded shrimp, minced pollock, fish sticks, white Gulf shrimp (headless/shell-on), Key West pink shrimp (headless/shell-on), Alaska Pollock fillets (skinless), chicken nuggets, top sirloin steaks, pork loin chops, chicken breasts, plant-based nuggets, plant-based fish sticks, plant-based ground beef and tofu blocks.

The post Microplastics in Protein Products Concerns All Consumers appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

Microplastics in Protein Products Concerns All Consumers

Ocean Acidification

The Strata that Matta

Published

3 days ago

July 5, 2026

Alice Rush

From Desert to Seafloor

Fig. 1) team Strata That Matta: Victoria C., Maeghan D., Maddie B., Vale B. (from left to right)

The months leading up to OCEAN CORE Academy were filled with another type of adventure for me, surveying the badlands of New Mexico in search of dinosaur bones. Yet, my work in the Gulf Coast Repository consisted of examining ocean cores using a microscope. Although these experiences couldn’t be any more different, the two were similar in that each attempted to answer the same question: what did Earth look like in the past?

I focus much of my research on vertebrate paleontological and geological fieldwork, such as prospecting for fossils, measuring strata, or describing ancient paleoenvironments and faunal assemblages. While I knew about microfossils, I had not fully grasped how much geological history is present in them.

Fig. 2) fieldwork, NM (May 2026)

History Through a Microscope

This leads me to one of the most memorable parts of OCEAN CORE Academy, learning to prepare smear slides and identify what existed within the ocean cores. Ocean sediments are fairly recent in that they have not yet been lithified, each layer represents tens to hundreds of years of depositions onto the seafloor. What I looked at was much deeper!

It was a momentous occasion when I first saw a radiolarian beneath the microscope! These tiny fossilized organisms provide surprisingly detailed insights into ancient environments. The conditions in which different groups of microfossils thrive vary, but by tracking how they fluctuate between layers, we can reconstruct climatic shifts over geologic time.

Team Strata That Matta correlated a transition from calcareous to siliceous ooze layers with a cooling climate!

Fig. 3) my first time seeing microfossils

Fig. 4) radiolarian Fig. 5) coccolithophores Fig. 6) sponge spiccules

Bringing OCA Back to AZ

Upon my return to Arizona, I will carry this new perspective with me. As I move forward with future projects and field seasons in New Mexico, volunteer at the Arizona Museum of Natural History, and pursue my degree, the skills I developed here will prove to be invaluable for strengthening my own research.

Prior to attending OCEAN CORE Academy I viewed microfossils as existing, yet somewhat separate from my projects. This place has challenged that perspective. I came to understand that many of the most detailed records of Earth’s past are the microfossils hidden within a single grain of sediment!

Fig. 7) class of OCA 2026

Written by OCA 2026 student, Maddie Baare

The Strata that Matta

Ocean Acidification

Earth’s History at Every Scale

Published

3 days ago

July 4, 2026

Alice Rush

From Desert to Seafloor

Fig. 1) team Strata That Matta: Victoria C., Maeghan D., Maddie B., Vale B. (from left to right)

Fig. 2) fieldwork, NM (May 2026)

History Through a Microscope

This leads me to one of the most memorable parts of OCEAN CORE Academy, learning to prepare smear slides and identify what existed within the ocean cores. It was a momentous occasion when I first saw a radiolarian beneath the microscope!

Before, I had been hunting for fossils measured in centimeters/meters, but now I am studying those measured in micrometers. These tiny fossilized organisms provide surprisingly detailed insights into ancient environments. The conditions in which different groups of microfossils thrive vary, but by tracking how they fluctuate between layers, we can reconstruct climatic shifts over geologic time.

Using these changing microfossil assemblages, my team correlated a transition from calcareous to siliceous ooze layers with a cooling climate!

Fig. 3) my first time seeing microfossils

Fig. 4) radiolarian Fig. 5) coccolithophores Fig. 6) sponge spiccules

Bringing OCA Back to AZ

Fig. 7) class of OCA 2026

Written by OCA 2026 student, Maddie Baare

Earth’s History at Every Scale

Ocean Acidification

Microplastic Pollution Research at Sea

Published

5 days ago

July 2, 2026

Alice Rush

I have been studying plastic pollution for more than a decade. I’ve analyzed hundreds of samples in labs, pored over data and spent years thinking hard about where plastics go once they leave our hands and enter the environment. I love doing work on the water—this was a big part of my previous professional roles in Alaska and in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.

And here’s where it took me! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to join the first leg of eXXpedition’s voyage in the South Pacific this past spring, trading my lab coat for a lifejacket to study microplastics at sea. Sailing from Auckland, New Zealand, to the Bay of Islands aboard the 70-foot research vessel Wind Shift over 10 days, our crew of 12 women conducted ocean water-surface sampling via manta tow nets (a long cone-shaped mesh net), cleaned up debris on remote beaches and examined city streets with measuring tapes and field equipment. Our purpose? To collect key data to help us better understand the flow of plastics from land to sea.

Our all-female guest crew—hence the XX in “eXXpedition”—brought aboard expertise from the fields of structural engineering, circular economy strategy, sustainable fashion, plastics research, robotics and more. Together, we represented a remarkable cross-section of disciplines united around a shared concern for the health of our ocean.

Seeing it with my own eyes

We found plastics of all shapes and sizes everywhere we went—in the city streets of Auckland, while crossing the Hauraki Gulf and even at Aotea Great Barrier Island (one of the most remote and protected stretches of New Zealand’s coastline). Our ocean is vast and some of these places felt far removed from the centers of human activity, but this eXXpedition was a good reminder that plastic doesn’t respect remoteness. It moves, accumulates and shows up where we least expect.

Working alongside local NGO Sustainable Coastlines, we arrived on a remote stretch of beach on Aotea Great Barrier Island to audit and clean up any plastics we came across. What we found there told the same story our Auckland street surveys did: We found bottle caps, food packaging, fragments, plastic pellets and fishing debris. The everyday materials of modern life—but weathered, broken and scattered.

Science at sea

One of my favorite parts of the voyage (which was also one of the most challenging, if I’m being honest!) was the sea-surface manta trawl analyses we did onboard. I found out quickly that sorting microplastics from krill-laden seawater samples under a microscope while sailing is not for the faint of stomach.

The most common plastic culprit we found in those samples? Microplastic fibers. This type of microplastic is no wider than a human hair and is the most common type of microplastic found in the environment. Microplastic fibers can come from a variety of sources like cigarette butts, weathered ropes or wet wipes, but actually, most microplastic fibers shed from synthetic clothing and textiles. Laundering is a major source— shockingly, a single load of laundry can generate up to 18 million microfibers.

And yet, we found these tiny plastic fibers floating in the ocean many miles away from the nearest washing machine.

In my lab research, I have found microplastic fibers time and time again, but there’s something even more sobering about hand-picking them out of a seawater sample collected from pristine-looking waters. It was a good reminder of why understanding where plastic comes from, how it moves and where it ends up is so critical to addressing the problem at its roots.

Filter Out NSFW Microplastics

Tell your elected officials to take action against plastic pollution by requiring microplastic fiber filters! Adding your name takes less than two minutes, and goes a long way in protecting our ocean, forever and for everyone.

TAKE ACTION

What I’m bringing back

Studying plastic pollution from the deck of a boat in some of the most remote waters in the Southern Hemisphere made me appreciate the work I do even more. It also made me appreciate how important people are in this giant puzzle of plastic pollution solutions. The plastic pollution crisis is a human problem, and solving it requires all of us. The courage and dedication of the women I shared those 10 days with is something I won’t forget. Going to sea, doing the science and pushing through discomfort to collect data that matters was not easy. We were seasick some days and exhilarated others. Despite that fact, we showed up for it fully, every day.

The plastic is out there, even in far-flung corners of the ocean. And the answer is not to be paralyzed by that fact, but to use it as fuel. Every sample we collected is now a data point in a larger story about where plastic comes from and where it goes. Every cleanup, every surface trawl, every street block walked and every hour spent at a microscope are parts of building the evidence base that informs policies, regulations and systems-level changes that can actually turn this crisis around.

Cleaning up beaches and coastlines is valuable and necessary work. But we also must stop plastic from entering the ocean in the first place—through stronger policy, better product design and real investment in waste management infrastructure everywhere. Luckily, when it comes to the most common microplastics in the ocean— microplastic fibers—there is already an effective, affordable solution to immediately reduce microplastics coming from our laundry by roughly 90%: washing machine filters. These filters act just like laundry lint filters in our dryers, capturing fibers in tightly-woven mesh and effectively preventing them from leaving our homes and leaking into the environment.

What can you do?

There’s no better time to tackle plastic pollution than right now, during Plastic Free July! Take two minutes to add your name and call on your elected leaders to combat those pesky, dangerous microfibers that are pouring into our ocean daily—like the ones I found from my samples at sea. Together, we can stop plastic pollution at the source and protect our ocean forever and for everyone.

My biggest takeaways from this experience? People are remarkable. Our ocean is remarkable. And our ocean is worth fighting for, including from 70 feet of sailing vessel in the South Pacific, staring down a microscope with a pair of tweezers and a queasy stomach.

The eXXpedition South Pacific I voyage ran from April 27 to May 6, 2026, sailing from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. Learn more about the research team and our itinerary at https://exxpedition.com/voyage/auckland-to-bay-of-islands/.