[The assessment of the consumption of food packaged in plastic containers]

Microplastics (MP) contamination of food has become a serious problem due to its increasing accumulation in ecosystems, including terrestrial and aquatic, as well as in organisms of living creatures, including humans. MP can enter food such as water, milk, fish and seafood, which contributes to their entry into the human body and creates health risks. The main sources of contamination of food include the raw materials used and packaging or materials in contact with food during its transportation, cooking and storage. MP can be added or removed from food during processing and cooking. However, it is difficult to assess the total oral exposure to MP due to the lack of data on MP contamination in many other food groups. In addition, there is no data in the Russian Federation on the amounts of actual consumption of food packaged in plastic containers that may be contaminated with MP, which makes it relevant to study the scale of consumption of food groups in which microparticles are found most frequently. The purpose of the research was to assess the actual consumption of liquid products by the population of the Russian Federation, including dairy products, carbonated drinks, juices, mineral and drinking waters packaged in plastic containers as well as products in which, according to scientific data, the largest amounts of MP particles have been identified.

The assessment of food consumption was carried out using data obtained by analyzing the frequency of food consumption applying an online survey, which was based on a specially designed questionnaire. The survey was conducted on a voluntary basis among 494 respondents aged over 18 who lived in various regions. The data from the electronic survey was automatically stored in an Excel database.

The obtained primary data on the frequency and volume of portions of consumed products, which were recalculated into average daily values - per capita and per consumer, and statistically processed. The average per capita consumption of water in plastic bottles was 411 ml/day, and per consumer - 497 ml/day. The average daily per capita consumption of milk in plastic bottles was 114 ml, in a tetrapack package - 68 ml. Milk consumption per consumer was 179 ml/day in a plastic bottle and 129 ml/day in a tetrapack package. There was also a high frequency of tea bag consumption. The average daily consumption of sugary carbonated and non-carbonated beverages was 81 and 55 ml, respectively. Among the products obtained from the aquatic ecosystem, boiled/ fried fish was the most consumed product - 16.9 g/day. However, the consumption of oysters (68.8 g/day) and mussels (29.9 g/day) per consumer was higher (this is due to the small number of consumers, n=30 and n=118, respectively). In general, the consumption of products packaged in plastic containers varied depending on the product category.

The developed online questionnaire made it possible to assess the consumption of liquid food packaged in plastic containers, as well as products in which the highest quantities of MP particles were detected. The largest volume of liquid products packaged in plastic containers is accounted for by water and packaged tea. At the same time, there is a significant variation in consumption volumes, which is related to the individual preferences and habits of the respondents. Dairy products and sugary drinks are consumed in smaller volumes, but they also remain significant. Energy drinks, although consumed less frequently, are in high demand among consumers. Using the data obtained after quantifying the MP content in food will allow us to get closer to calculating the total oral MP exposure of the urban population of the Russian Federation. The need to expand the groups of respondents living in other regions remains urgent.