研究發(fā)現(xiàn)水果和蔬菜中含有微塑料

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)水果和蔬菜中含有微塑料

Just when you thought you were taking care of your health by eating enough fruit and vegetables every day, new research has come out revealing that you might be ingesting microplastic particles along with all those vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

當(dāng)你認(rèn)為每天吃足夠多的水果和蔬菜會保護(hù)你的健康時，新的研究表明，你可能在攝入維他命、礦物質(zhì)和纖維的同時還攝入了塑料微粒。

A groundbreaking study published in the journal Environmental Research has found that fruits and vegetables absorb microplastic particles from the soil and translocate them through vegetal tissues, where they remain until eaten by hungry diners, thus getting transferred to human bodies.

發(fā)表在《環(huán)境研究》雜志上的一項開創(chuàng)性研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，水果和蔬菜從土壤中吸收塑料微粒，并通過植物組織轉(zhuǎn)移，直到饑餓的食客吃掉它們，從而轉(zhuǎn)移到人體。

@JJFarquitectos via Twenty20

The researchers, who are from the University of Catania in Italy, as well as Sousse and Monastir universities in Tunisia, analyzed a variety of common fruits and vegetables – carrots, lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, apples, and pears. These were chosen for the fact that they are frequently consumed, usually one per day, which allowed the researchers to "better assess the dietary intakes of MPs (microplastic particles) and NPs (nano-plastics)." The samples were purchased from different sources in the city of Catania, including a small fruit vendor and supermarket.

來自意大利卡塔尼亞大學(xué)以及突尼斯Sousse和Monastir大學(xué)的研究人員分析了各種常見的水果和蔬菜——胡蘿卜、萵苣、花椰菜、土豆、蘋果和梨。之所以選擇這些藥物是因?yàn)樗鼈兘?jīng)常被攝入，通常是每天一粒，這讓研究人員能夠“更好地評估MPs(微塑料顆粒)和NPs(納米塑料)的飲食攝入量。”這些樣本是從卡塔尼亞市的不同地方購買的，包括一家小水果攤販和超市。

The researchers found that apples, followed by pears, were the most contaminated fruit samples, and carrots were the most contaminated vegetable. Lettuce contained the smallest number of microplastic particles, though these were physically larger than the ones found in carrot samples. All samples were "characterized by wide variability." In the study's discussion section, the authors wrote,

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，蘋果是受污染最嚴(yán)重的水果樣本，其次是梨，胡蘿卜是受污染最嚴(yán)重的蔬菜。生菜中塑料微粒的數(shù)量最少，盡管它們的體積比胡蘿卜樣本中發(fā)現(xiàn)的要大。所有的樣本都“具有較大的差異性”。在研究的討論部分，作者寫道，

"We can hypothesize that the fruits contain more MPs not only because of the very high vascularization of the fruit pulp but also due to the greater size and complexity of the root system and age of the tree (several years) compared to the vegetables (60–75 days for the carrot). Also, the carrot has small, microscopic hairs on the outside of the epidermis of the central root; these serve to increase the surface area of the root, but survive for only a few days."

“我們可以假設(shè)的水果含有更多的議員不僅因?yàn)楹芨叩墓獾难芑?但也由于更大的規(guī)模和復(fù)雜性的樹的根系和年齡(幾年)相比,蔬菜胡蘿卜(60 - 75天)。此外，胡蘿卜在中央根的表皮外還有微小的毛;這些可以增加根的表面積，但只能存活幾天。”

This study is important because it's the first to detect microplastics in edible fruits and vegetables. They have been found in other sources before, such as sea salt, beer, water (bottled, in particular), shellfish, sugar, soil, and even air, but never inside fresh produce. It's an alarming discovery that raises yet another red flag about microplastic pollution in the natural environment.

這項研究很重要，因?yàn)樗堑谝淮卧诳墒秤盟褪卟酥袡z測出塑料微粒。以前在其他地方也發(fā)現(xiàn)過，如海鹽、啤酒、水(尤其是瓶裝水)、貝類、糖、土壤，甚至空氣中也發(fā)現(xiàn)過，但從未在新鮮農(nóng)產(chǎn)品中發(fā)現(xiàn)過。這是一個令人擔(dān)憂的發(fā)現(xiàn)，它向人們敲響了關(guān)于自然環(huán)境中微塑料污染的另一個危險信號。

As Maria Westerbossaid, founder of the Plastic Soup Foundation, stated in a press release, "This is the first time we have known about plastic getting into vegetables. If it is getting into vegetables, it is getting into everything that eats vegetables, which means it is in our meat and dairy as well. What we need to find out now is what this is doing to us. This is unchartered territory. Does plastic make us sick?"

正如塑料湯基金會的創(chuàng)始人Maria Westerbossaid在一份新聞稿中所說，“這是我們第一次知道塑料進(jìn)入蔬菜。”如果它進(jìn)入了蔬菜，它進(jìn)入了所有有關(guān)蔬菜的東西，這意味著它也在我們的肉類和奶制品中。我們現(xiàn)在要弄清楚的是這對我們造成了什么影響。這是一個未開墾的領(lǐng)域。塑料會讓我們生病嗎?”

It's an area that will likely see a lot more attention in coming years, with the study authors calling for further research into the question of nanotoxicity and whether it harms the health of both plants and humans.

這個領(lǐng)域在未來幾年可能會受到更多關(guān)注，研究作者呼吁對納米毒性問題以及它是否會對植物和人類的健康造成危害進(jìn)行進(jìn)一步研究。