A dried-fish study chemically distinguished plastic polymers, pigments, other particles and unidentified material in separated flesh and organs.
Source details
Ali Karami, Abolfazl Golieskardi, Yu Bin Ho, Vincent Larat, Babak Salamatinia. Scientific Reports. 2017.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05828-6
Findings
A dried-fish study chemically distinguished plastic polymers, pigments, other particles and unidentified material in separated flesh and organs.
- 36 chemically confirmed plastic particles; Four dried-fish species, 30 fish/species, flesh and organs analyzed separately.
- 29 plastic particles in eviscerated flesh; Eviscerated flesh defined as whole fish excluding gills and viscera.
- 7 plastic particles in excised organs; Gills and viscera analyzed together, separately from eviscerated flesh.
- 149 µm initial sieve pore size; Dried-fish digest filtered before density separation and final fine filtration.
Methods and scope
KOH digestion, initial coarse filtration, NaI density separation, visual candidate selection and micro-Raman identification. EDX examined inorganic composition. Concurrent digestion and density-separation blanks contained no particles.
What this source can support
Direct evidence for the sampled dried fish, with flesh and organ fractions kept separate.
Whole eviscerated flesh includes tissues beyond muscle. Coarse initial filtration limits small-particle recovery; the later fine filter is not a detection limit. Packaging/processing versus environmental contributions were unresolved.
Related evidence
Reported values and source locations
| Reported value | Measurement basis | Conditions and size context | Original document location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 chemically confirmed plastic particles | total confirmed particles | Four dried-fish species, 30 fish/species, flesh and organs analyzed separately Initial 149 µm sieve; final 8 µm filter is not an analytical lower size limit | PDF p. 2 Results; Figure 1 |
| 29 plastic particles in eviscerated flesh | total across flesh fractions, not particles per serving | Eviscerated flesh defined as whole fish excluding gills and viscera Initial 149 µm sieve; possible loss of smaller particles | PDF pp. 2-3 Results; Figure 6 |
| 7 plastic particles in excised organs | total across organ fractions | Gills and viscera analyzed together, separately from eviscerated flesh Initial 149 µm sieve | PDF p. 3 Results; Figure 6 |
| 149 µm initial sieve pore size | method pore size, not minimum measured particle diameter | Dried-fish digest filtered before density separation and final fine filtration Coarse initial filtration can affect recovery; later 8 µm filter is not a validated full-method size floor | PDF p. 6 Microplastic isolation |
Source provenance
Primary PDF SHA-256: 452a5f83f01d973fe8504fc739d9a90387bcda26fd33c55219acd85d485b3431
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