Vegetable-Borne Microplastics: Evidence, Uncertainties, and a Research Agenda for Food-Chain Risk Assessment.

Microplastic (MP) pollution poses an increasing environmental threat, with potential impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, and food chains. While its effects in marine environments are well-documented, the influence of MP contamination on terrestrial crops, particularly vegetables, remains underexplored. This review examines the sources of MPs in agricultural systems, detection techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy, and the associated risks to vegetable production. Microplastics enter fields through contaminated irrigation, atmospheric deposition, and plastic-based farming practices, with potential toxicological effects on plants and human health. The assessment calls for standardized detection methods, sustainable farming practices, and further research on MP contamination's long-term effects.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

• Publication date

  2026-03-05

• Fields of study

  Agricultural and Food Sciences, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c14191PMID 41784551
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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