Oral exposure to polyethylene microplastics alters gut morphology, immune response, and microbiota composition in mice.

The ubiquitous and growing presence of microplastics (MPs) in all compartments of the environment raises concerns about their possible harmful effects on human health. Human exposure to MPs occurs largely through ingestion. Polyethylene (PE) is widely employed for reusable bags and food packaging and found to be present in drinking water and food.

Occurrence and identification of microplastics in beach sediments from the Hauts-de-France region.

The present work was carried out to quantify microplastics (MP) from three sandy beaches along the Côte d'Opale coastline located in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Three different study sites located along the English Channel were investigated due to different levels of anthropopression and hydrodynamic conditions. Sediments were collected at three different tide lines: high tide line (HTL), middle of the intertidal zone (IZ), and low tide line (LTL), to investigate the effects of tide line on microplastic contamination.

Microplastic contamination and pollutant levels in mussels and cockles collected along the channel coasts.

Nowadays, environmental pollution by microplastics (<5 mm; MP) is a major issue. MP are contaminating marine organisms consumed by humans. This work studied MP contamination in two bivalve species of commercial interest: blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) sampled on the Channel coastlines (France).

Validation of standard method EN ISO 19343 for the detection and quantification of histamine in fish and fishery products using high-performance liquid chromatography.

In contaminated fish, bacterial decarboxylases produce histamine from histidine, thereby causing scombroid fish poisoning. European Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs requires using a fully validated, standardized reference HPLC method for detecting and quantifying histamine. After optimizing this reference method for the quantification of histamine in fish muscle, we organized an inter-laboratory study in 2013 across nine laboratories from seven European countries using defined criteria of method performance.

Optimization, performance, and application of a pyrolysis-GC/MS method for the identification of microplastics.

Plastics are found to be major debris composing marine litter; microplastics (MP, < 5 mm) are found in all marine compartments. The amount of MPs tends to increase with decreasing size leading to a potential misidentification when only visual identification is performed. These last years, pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) has been used to get information on the composition of polymers with some applications on MP identification.

Microplastics in seafood: Benchmark protocol for their extraction and characterization.

Pollution of the oceans by microplastics (<5 mm) represents a major environmental problem. To date, a limited number of studies have investigated the level of contamination of marine organisms collected in situ. For extraction and characterization of microplastics in biological samples, the crucial step is the identification of solvent(s) or chemical(s) that efficiently dissolve organic matter without degrading plastic polymers for their identification in a time and cost effective way.

Occurrence of the three major Vibrio species pathogenic for human in seafood products consumed in France using real-time PCR.

Vibrio spp. have emerged as a serious threat to human health worldwide. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus are of particular concern as they have been linked to gastrointestinal infections and septicemia associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood.

Evolution of volatile compounds and biogenic amines throughout the shelf life of marinated and salted anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus).

Producers of processed anchovies have developed hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) to guarantee the quality of their products. Nonetheless there is a lack of objective data to determine products' shelf life. The quality of a product is usually established on the basis of its safety and organoleptic properties.