Microp­lastic­s can return to human food via shellf­ishOSLO: Tiny bits of plastic are contaminating mussels from the European Arctic to China in a sign of the global spread of ocean pollution that can end up on people’s dinner plates. Mussels in apparently pristine Arctic waters had most plastic of any tested along the Norwegian coast, according to a study this month by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). Plastics may be getting swept north by ocean currents and winds from Europe and America, ending up swirling around the Arctic Ocean, NIVA researcher Amy Lusher told Reuters. Almost 200 nations signed a UN resolution this month to eliminate plastic pollution in the seas, ranging from bottles to supermarket bags and food packaging, estimated at 8 million tonnes a year. China and the European Union are the top producers of farmed mussels in a global business worth $3 billion.

Source: The Express Tribune December 20, 2017 11:26 UTC