Development of chemical digestion methods for the microplastics identification and quantification in various food...

Microplastic pollution being ubiquitous, studies on food contamination are becoming more numerous. However, certain food categories, such as dairy products, fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and their derivatives, and sugary products, have received little attention. This is partly due to the complexity of their biochemical compositions and the lack of appropriate sample preparation methods, which is why this study aims to develop and evaluate suitable chemical digestion methods. Various chemical reagents were applied to these matrices. This first step showed that the various protocols can digest most matrices, with the exception of rice, chocolate, apples, and carrots. The impacts of the protocols on the integrity of polymers (PA 6-6, polyethylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene) were evaluated. The second stage confirmed that 65% HNO₃ and 70% HClO₄ caused the degradation of certain polymers such as PA 6-6, PE, and PES, while 10% KOH and 30% H₂O₂ did not degrade microplastics.