Microplastic contamination in salt-cured fish and commercial sea salts: an emerging food safety threat in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Microplastic (MP) contamination in seafood, particularly processed varieties like dried and salt-cured fish, poses a significant threat to human health. This study investigated MP levels in 22 salt-cured fish species and commercial sea salts along the Indian east coast. Results showed substantially higher MP concentrations compared to global averages, with fragments and fibres (< 250 µm) composing 70% of identified MPs, primarily PVC and PS polymers (> 55%). Station 2 exhibited high pollution levels, with salt-cured fish averaging 54.06 ± 14.48 MP items/g and salt containing 23.53 ± 4.2 MP items/g, indicating a high hazard risk index. A modest correlation was observed between MP abundance, morphotypes, polymer composition in the salt, and their impact on fish products. Given the critical link between food safety, security, and public health, further research is imperative to mitigate MP contamination, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 2, Goal 3, Goal 14, and Goal 15) for enhanced food safety and security.

Harnessing value and sustainability: Fish waste valorization and the production of valuable byproducts.

The valorization of by-products, that are residual materials resulting from commercial product manufacturing, holds significant potential in various industries such as food, agrochemical, medical, and pharmaceutical sectors. This chapter explores the utilization of fish waste as a means to achieve sustainability in fish resources and enhance the production of profitable products. By developing cost-effective technologies, the abundant global supply of fish by-products can be transformed into low-cost sources of proteins and functional hydrolysates. This alternative approach in the food industry utilizes fish and seafood waste to generate valuable compounds with nutritional and functional properties, surpassing those found in traditional mammal products. Despite being commonly discarded, fish heads, viscera, skin, tails, blood, and seafood shells contain a wealth ofminerals, lipids, amino acids, polysaccharides, and proteins suitable for human health applications. This chapter presents an exploration of the various products and bioactive compounds that can be derived from seafood waste, contributing to a more sustainable and value-driven future.

Microplastic contamination in salted and sun dried fish and implications for food security - A study on the effect of location, style and constituents of dried fish on microplastics load.

The presence of microplastics in 21 different species of marine dried fish products from four locations in India is reported in this study. All samples have microplastics, and majority of the MPs were found to be fragments (56 %) and are of <100 µm size (47 %). Eviscerated fish found to have significantly higher MPs than whole fish. Micro FTIR spectroscopy was used to recognize the polymer of identified MPs, which included polypropylene (21 %), low density polyethylene (17.5 %), polystyrene (15.5 %), and others. Anguilla bengalensis from station 1 had the greatest concentration of microplastics (99 ± 18.91 MPs/g) among all the samples. High value of microplastics polymer induced risk index (H) of different stations, suggesting a significant level of threat to consumer safety. Additional research is required to determine the potential effects on human health caused by consuming dried fish that contains variety of microplastics and their associated compounds.

Microplastics in the foreshore coastal waters, sediment, and coastal fauna of a highly populated megacity - A study on the effect of anthropogenic discharge on clams.

In this study, the microplastics (MPs) abundance, characteristics and their variations across three popular beaches of highly populated and largest megacity of India were documented using clams as an indicator species. The abundance of MPs in clams was 77.39 MPs items/g in soft tissue parts and 198.82 items/individual, while in coastal waters and sediments the abundance was 537.5 ± 95 items/L and 10,568.3 ± 3053.3 items/kg respectively. The observed higher microplastic diversity integrated (MDII) indicates numerous sources contributing to microplastics pollution and higher microplastic index (MPI) indicates greater bioavailability of MPs to clams. The bulk of the microplastics recovered from clams (55.78 %), coastal sediments (52.27 %) and coastal sea waters (54 %) belong to the <100 µm size range, and were identified as LDPE and polypropylene, polyamide and polystyrene. This investigation tried to validate the potential trophic transfer concerns associated with clam intake to both human health and marine ecology.

Ecotoxicological and physiological risks of microplastics on fish and their possible mitigation measures.

Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed and extensively found within marine ecosystems, and approximately 8 million tons of plastics are being dumped into the sea annually. Once reached the marine environment, plastics tend to get fragmented into smaller particles through photo-degradation, mechanical and biological processes. These MPs have raised concerns globally due to their potential toxic impacts on a wide variety of aquatic fauna and humans. Ingested microplastics can cause severe health implications in fishes, including reduced feeding intensity, improper gill functioning, immuno-suppression, and compromised reproducibility. Several studies were also conducted to scrutinize MPs trophic transfer through the food chain from primary producers to top predators and their bioaccumulation. This paper briefly summarizes all the possible sources, routes, bioavailability, trophic transfer, and consequences of microplastics in fishes. The review article also intended to highlight various mitigation strategies like implementing Four R's concept (refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle), integrated strategies, ban on single-use plastics, use bioplastics, and create behavioural changes with public awareness.