EA – Earth Action (EA), an independent research group and consultancy based out of Switzerland, published a report on April 23, 2026, attempting to quantify the global burden of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in food attributable to food packaging. In total, EA estimates 1050 tons of MNPs are ingested per year, approximately 131 mg per person annually (range: ~80–400 mg/person/year) “rising to over one gram annually for high-use consumers.” They found that while “[p]ackaging is not the dominant environmental source by mass, … it is a major ingestion pathway … because MNPs are directly transferred to food and beverages at the point of consumption, with minimal environmental dilution or dispersion.”
The report is organized around four research questions
- What are the main mechanisms leading to the release of micro- and nanoplastics from food packaging into food, and why do these releases occur in the first place?
- Among food-contact applications, which packaging formats, materials, and use conditions are the main contributors to these emissions?
- What are the orders of magnitude of MNP emissions from food packaging at global and per capita scales, and how do they compare to other known sources of microplastic exposure?
- How does the potential health relevance of micro- and nanoplastic exposure compare to that of chemical exposures from intentionally and non-intentionally added substances?
The authors report that irradiation is the largest driver of MNP particle development, finding that “[s]unlight and UV exposure increase particle release by up to two orders of magnitude.” Mechanical stress (e.g., opening and closing bottles) and thermal stress (e.g., microwaving and hot-filling) also contribute to the release of plastic particles.
The ingested particles from packaging overwhelmingly belong to three polymer types. PET bottles are the largest individual source, followed by rigid PET and flexible polyethylene (PE) containers.
If a particle is larger than approximately 150 µm the body excretes it. Unfortunately, the majority of particles were smaller than this. EA found that “packaging-related MNP exposure is dominated by particles small enough to interact with biological systems.” Based on the estimate of approximately 131 mg/person/year of consumed MNPs, people may be consuming millions or billions of particles each year.
Each plastic particle also contains the intentionally and non-intentionally added substances from the source packaging. The authors could not directly measure the impact of the chemicals from MNPs but concluded that “uncertainty should not be interpreted as evidence of safety. Rather, the principal implication is recognition of a non-negligible, widespread, and difficult-to-control exposure pathway.”
MNPs have been measured all over the human body and evidence of health effects from that exposure is mounting. Animal and cellular studies indicate they may contribute to metabolic diseases while other studies have linked MNPs to disease outcomes such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, autism spectrum disorder, and cancer, mostly in small sample size studies. Several studies have linked microplastic exposure with reproductive health outcomes, including in male mice, pregnant mice, and their offspring.
Reference
Marguerite Fauroux, Julien Boucher, and Sarah Perreard (April 23, 2026). “From pack to plate: A global assessment of micro- and nanoplastics from food packaging into food.” EA – Earth Action.
This article was originally published by Lindsey Parkinson at the Food Packaging Forum.
