A study of a commercial low-density polyethylene food wrap measured particle generation during heating, refrigeration, freezing, and freeze-thaw experiments in water.
Source details
Liuwei Wang, Jing Gao, Wei-Min Wu, Jian Luo, Michael S. Bank, Albert A. Koelmans, John J. Boland, Deyi Hou. Environmental science & technology. 2024.
Findings
A study of a commercial low-density polyethylene food wrap measured particle generation during heating, refrigeration, freezing, and freeze-thaw experiments in water.
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| Test condition | Reported result | Particle size context | Source location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microwave 119 W, 2450 MHz; final water temperature 48 °C; 2 min | 147 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Microwave 119 W, 2450 MHz; final water temperature 96 °C; 10 min | 313 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Refrigerator 4 °C; 7 days | 103 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Refrigerator 4 °C; 30 days | 72 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Freezer -20 °C; 30 days | 66 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Freezer -20 °C; 60 days | 112 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Each cycle: -20 °C for 24 h, then 25 °C for 24 h; 2 cycles | 132 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| Each cycle: -20 °C for 24 h, then 25 °C for 24 h; 4 cycles | 183 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 30 min at tested temperatures 48, 69, 85, 91, 96, 100 °C | 214 to 410 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm | PDF p. 4 (printed C) §2.2; p. 7 (printed F) §3.1 |
| Steaming over boiling water; 5 min to 3 h | 181 to 690 MPs/cm² of film | 10-5000 µm | PDF p. 5 (printed D) §2.2; p. 7 (printed F) §3.1 |
Methods and scope
Nile Red staining, laser confocal microscopy, and image analysis counted particles. Film chemistry was characterized separately; individual counted particles should not be described as Raman-confirmed. Detailed quality-control results are deferred to supporting information not available in this reviewed packet.
What this source can support
Supports reported counts for this film and these tests. Counts per film area cannot be presented as particles per serving or as results for all storage wraps.
Supporting information was not available for this review. Do not call every fluorescent counted particle Raman-confirmed. Source is one LDPE wrap, not all wraps or zip bags. Numbers normalize to film area, not food volume, package, or serving. The refrigerator values do not increase monotonically with duration. No measured human dose or clinical outcome.
Related evidence
Plastic food storage · How microplastics are measured
Reported values and source locations
| Reported value | Measurement basis | Conditions and size context | Original document location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 147 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Microwave 119 W, 2450 MHz; final water temperature 48 °C; 2 min 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 313 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Microwave 119 W, 2450 MHz; final water temperature 96 °C; 10 min 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 103 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Refrigerator 4 °C; 7 days 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 72 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Refrigerator 4 °C; 30 days 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 66 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Freezer -20 °C; 30 days 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 112 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Freezer -20 °C; 60 days 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 132 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Each cycle: -20 °C for 24 h, then 25 °C for 24 h; 2 cycles 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 183 MPs/cm² of film | Paper-reported point estimate; numeric SD/SE not supplied in main text for these counts | Each cycle: -20 °C for 24 h, then 25 °C for 24 h; 4 cycles 10-5000 µm (Feret diameter) | PDF pp. 4-5 (printed C-D), §§2.1-2.3; p. 7 (printed F), §3.1 |
| 214 to 410 MPs/cm² of film | Range across heating treatments | 30 min at tested temperatures 48, 69, 85, 91, 96, 100 °C 10-5000 µm | PDF p. 4 (printed C) §2.2; p. 7 (printed F) §3.1 |
| 181 to 690 MPs/cm² of film | Range across steaming durations | Steaming over boiling water; 5 min to 3 h 10-5000 µm | PDF p. 5 (printed D) §2.2; p. 7 (printed F) §3.1 |
Source provenance
Primary PDF SHA-256: 9f492fb5cd2b7d5432d320eff98802ca31690d4ce232b926d3e4f97542359103
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