Microplastics have been found in mussels, meat, honey, vegetables, beer and table salt. That sentence is accurate, widely repeated, and says nothing at all about whether they harm anyone. The European Food Safety Authority accepted a mandate from the European Parliament on 5 December 2025 to assess the health risks of microplastics in food, water and air, with the evaluation running to 31 December 2027. Until it concludes, EFSA’s own position is that it cannot draw conclusions on potential health effects — a statement worth taking seriously in both directions.
What has been established
Detection is settled. Microplastic particles have been identified across a range of foods, and analytical methods have improved to the point where finding them is no longer the difficult part.
What is not settled is exposure and effect. Knowing that particles are present does not establish how many a person ingests, whether they are absorbed, what happens if they are, or at what level any of it would matter. Those are separate questions, and each requires methods that are still being standardised.
The measurement problem sits underneath everything
EFSA has noted that some existing studies may overestimate the transfer of microplastics from food contact materials into food. That is a technical point with large consequences.
Measuring particles a few micrometres across, in a food matrix, without contaminating the sample with plastic from the laboratory itself, is genuinely difficult. Airborne fibres from clothing, plastic labware and sample handling can all add particles that were never in the food. Where a study’s controls are weak, the result is biased upwards. This is not a reason to dismiss the field; it is a reason to be careful about which numbers get repeated.
The same caution applies to drinking water figures. Studies conducted in Europe report a wide range of concentrations, and comparisons between countries or between studies frequently reflect differences in method rather than differences in water.
Why the assessment matters beyond food safety
The EFSA evaluation is scheduled to complete by 31 December 2027, and its findings are expected to shape future EU policy on microplastics. That makes it consequential well outside the food sector.
Current EU microplastic policy has had to proceed without a completed risk assessment. The regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses, in force since December 2025, is the clearest example: it targets a specific, avoidable industrial pathway and does not depend on knowing the health effects of the particles involved. That was a defensible way to act under uncertainty. Broader restrictions — on materials, on products, on exposure limits — realistically require the science to land first.
How to read microplastics coverage in the meantime
Three questions separate useful reporting from noise.
- Is this about detection or effect? Most headlines describe detection. Detection has become easier every year, so rising detection figures partly track improving instruments rather than a worsening environment.
- What were the blanks? A study that reports procedural blanks and controls for laboratory contamination is doing the hard part. One that does not may be measuring its own equipment.
- Is a dose being claimed? Statements about health risk require an exposure estimate and a dose-response relationship. Absent both, a health claim is an extrapolation, whichever direction it points.
None of this is an argument for complacency. Plastic particles in the food chain are an unwanted outcome regardless of what the toxicology eventually shows, and reducing them is worth doing on precautionary grounds. It is an argument for describing the state of knowledge accurately, which at present means saying that the assessment is under way and the answer is not yet in.
Frequently asked questions
Has EFSA concluded that microplastics harm health?
No. EFSA has not completed a full risk assessment of microplastics and nanoplastics in food and states that it cannot currently conclude on potential health effects. Its evaluation runs to 31 December 2027.
When did EFSA start its microplastics assessment?
EFSA formally accepted a mandate from the European Parliament on 5 December 2025 to assess the health risks of microplastics in food, water and air, with completion scheduled by 31 December 2027.
In which foods have microplastics been detected?
Microplastics have been detected in foods including mussels, meat, honey, vegetables, beer and table salt. Detection, however, does not establish exposure levels or health effects.
Why might existing studies overestimate microplastic transfer?
EFSA has indicated that some current studies may overestimate the transfer of microplastics from food contact materials into food. Measuring particles a few micrometres across without contaminating the sample from laboratory sources is technically difficult.
Related reading: our microplastics coverage tracks the pathways and the evidence, plastic recycling explains where in the material cycle particles are generated, and the circular economy sets out the policy framework these questions feed into.
Sources: EFSA, microplastics and nanoplastics in food; reporting on EFSA’s acceptance of the European Parliament mandate of 5 December 2025 and the evaluation deadline of 31 December 2027; EFSA statement on possible overestimation of microplastic transfer from food contact materials.
