Direct microplastic exposure via foodstuff and food packaging - plastic leachables and their health effects (diMPex)

The aim of the project is to study the effects of microplastics and plastic additives to human colonic microbiota. The study is conducted with in vitro methods, which model the human gastrointestinal tract: INFOGEST simulates salivary, gastric and intestinal phases, and colon fermentation model contains colonic microbes. The results will reveal possible changes in the structure of microplastics caused by conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, and release of plastic additives during human digestion. Moreover the effects to colonic microbiota are studied. In addition to the colon model, migration of microplastics from plastic packages is studied to estimate the oral exposure to microplastics.