Microplastics in Vegan Foods from Spain, France, and Italy: Quantification and Characterization Across Dairy Alternatives, Meat Substitutes, and Sauces

The market rise in innovative vegan food products has been driven by global dietary trends moving toward plant-rich models. Nevertheless, new xenobiotics, such as microplastics (MPs), may be introduced via plastic packaging and multi-step industrial processing. Five commercial vegan items—seitan, quinoa burgers, soy desserts, vegan “Parmesan,” and vegan pesto sauce—gathered from Spanish, French, and Italian retail outlets (N = 15 commercial products, evaluated in technical triplicate, n = 3 per batch) were statistically assessed in this pilot study for MP contamination. Rather than reflecting national market averages, MP contamination levels in the analysed samples were primarily governed by processing intensity and primary packaging. While liquid/semi-solid matrices indicated significantly lower concentrations (0.3–4.7 MPs/10 g), solid ultra-processed meat substitutes had the most significant MP burdens (5.3–9.3 MPs/10 g). Particles measuring < 100 μm represented 85–91% of the total counts of recovered MPs across all samples. Polymer analysis is a combination of thermoplastics (such as PE, PP, PET) and engineering polymers (including PTFE, PU), implying possible influences from manufacturing equipment and packaging substances. Mean MP concentrations across product categories ranged from 0.03 to 0.93 MPs/g (0.3–9.3 MPs/10 g). According to standard European serving sizes, the individual estimated daily intakes (EDIs) varied from 0.12 MPs/kgbw/day for vegan pesto to 1.20 MPs/kgbw/day for plant-based burgers. Based on existing illustrative scenario assumptions, the total daily exposure resulted in an annual intake of around 43,000–46,000 MPs/year. This first pilot study provides preliminary baseline data on MP contamination in specific commercial vegan food items from three Southern European retail locations, underscoring the necessity for enhanced risk analysis and larger market-representative studies in the plant-based food supply chain.