The Invisible Threat: Assessing Microplastic Contamination in Beef and Its Implications for Food Safety

Microplastics (MPs) have been widely found in various food products cultivated on land, including meat. This study focuses on detecting the presence of MPs in beef available at traditional markets, specialty meat shops, and retail stores in the city of Semarang. The samples were digested using a combination of KOH solution, hydrogen peroxide, Fenton’s reagent, and identified using micro-FTIR. All samples were analyzed in duplicate. MPs were found in all beef samples. The highest concentration of MPs was found in beef from the traditional market (2.57×106±3.35×106 MPs/kg WB), followed by samples taken from the meat shop (7.51×105±1.58×105 MPs/kg WB), and supermarket (6.78×105±2.41×105 MPs/kg WB). Samples from traditional markets contained predominantly polyethylene (PE, 94.1%), while those from supermarkets and meat shops were mainly polyvinyl chloride (PVC), at 47.5% and 38.8% respectively. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL) was often found in supermarket samples (27.1%), and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) was commonly observed in meat shop samples (20.4%). Most of the MPs in fragment form were frequently found in supermarket and meat shop samples (62.5% and 65.9%, respectively), while foam MPs dominated traditional market samples (62.3%). Film MPs were also common in supermarket (25.3%) and traditional market (26.6%) samples. Most MPs across all samples measured >100-≤300 µm (33.4% to 37.7%). The intake of MPs from beef consumption for the Indonesian population is considered high, ranging from 1,866,750 MP/person/year to 6,733,400 MP/person/year based on national beef consumption data. Therefore, MP contamination still needs to be monitored to prevent food safety issues.