The conversation around microplastics has intensified as researchers continue detecting the particles across food systems, drinking water and human tissues. Microplastics are generally defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters that form through the breakdown of larger plastic materials or are manufactured for use in products such as textiles, cosmetics and industrial applications, according to the Ocean Conservancy.
Concern around the particles has grown alongside emerging research examining how widespread human exposure may influence biological processes. For example, a 2019 study published in Environmental Science & Technology estimated that adults may consume and inhale between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles annually through air, food and beverages.
More recent studies have also detected microplastics in human tissues, including the colon and placenta, while questions remain around the long-term implications of chronic exposure and the fate of particles that are not excreted from the body.
Amidst swirling consumer awareness and concerns regarding microplastics, nutrition and supplement brands are beginning to explore whether dietary interventions may support the body’s natural elimination processes.
One company entering this emerging category is Sifts, which recently launched a supplement positioned around digestive support and microplastic exposure. The company’s formulation combines chitosan, apple pectin and baobab, selected for their functional roles within the gastrointestinal tract.
In this NutraIngredients Q&A, Jacob Gilson, founder of Sifts, discusses why the company believes the category is emerging now, how it approached scientific substantiation and regulatory positioning, and what the launch could signal for formulators and ingredient suppliers as environmental exposure becomes a larger consideration in product development.
NI: What made microplastics feel like a legitimate area for supplement innovation now, rather than a topic the industry should simply continue to observe?
Jacob Gilson, founder of Sifts (JG): Microplastics have moved from being a purely environmental issue to something increasingly measurable within the human body. We’re seeing consistent detection across food, water, and human tissues, alongside a growing body of research linking their presence to changes in important biological markers.
Importantly, much of this evidence is still correlational – but the direction and consistency of the data have been enough to shift the conversation. It’s no longer just “are microplastics present?” but “what might that mean for human health over time?”
When I began digging into the space, nearly every expert I spoke with emphasized that the long-term solution is upstream – policy change, reduced plastic production, and better infrastructure. I fully agree with that.
The challenge is that those changes operate on multi-decade timelines, given how persistent plastic is in the environment and how long it takes for meaningful reductions in exposure to materialize.
That gap – between widespread exposure today and slow-moving structural solutions – is what made this feel like an area worth acting on now.
We explored a range of approaches to see what could be viable in the near term. Supplements stood out because there are already dietary fibers with well-established safety profiles and early clinical evidence suggesting they can interact with particles in the digestive tract and support their elimination.
That made it possible to build something grounded in existing science, rather than speculative innovation.
A closer analogy might be trans fats or air pollution – where early signals around exposure and biological effects emerged well before there was a definitive judgment that they were harmful. Over time, the evidence accumulated to a point where that uncertainty gave way to broad scientific consensus.
We’re still early in that curve with microplastics. But given the scale of exposure and the direction of the research, it felt important to begin building responsibly in this space now.
NI: Sifts is launching into a conversation that’s still evolving scientifically. How did you think about timing the launch–balancing emerging research with the readiness of the market and regulatory environment?
JG: We approached timing with a clear distinction between what is known, what is emerging, and what still needs to be studied.
There is strong and growing evidence around exposure – microplastics are consistently detected across food systems and in human samples. Where the science is still developing is around long-term health implications and intervention strategies.
In that sense, it’s similar to earlier cases like trans fats, which were widely used across the food supply for decades, even as questions about their health impact began to emerge. It wasn’t until much later – particularly in the 1990s – that a clearer scientific consensus formed around their effects on cholesterol and cardiovascular health.
Looking back, it highlights how valuable earlier, low-risk ways of reducing exposure could have been, even before full consensus was reached.
Rather than positioning the product around outcomes that aren’t yet fully established, we focused on a mechanism that is observable and grounded in existing nutritional science – how certain fibers behave within the digestive tract.
From a regulatory standpoint, that also allows us to stay firmly within structure/function territory – supporting normal digestive processes – while participating in a broader, evolving conversation.
NI: When you evaluated where nutrition could realistically play a role, why did a gut‑level, digestion‑based approach emerge as the most defensible intervention point?
JG: When we looked at the full lifecycle of exposure, the digestive tract stood out as the most immediate and accessible interface.
Microplastics enter the body primarily through ingestion, and the gut is where dietary fibers already play a well-understood role in binding, bulking, and facilitating elimination of various compounds.
Importantly, the gut represents an inevitable stopping point and a high-leverage area to focus on, because ingested particles pass through the digestive tract before any potential interaction with the gut barrier and distribution elsewhere in the body. That makes it a place where you can realistically intervene using nutrition, without needing to make assumptions about downstream effects.
This approach stays grounded in what is observable during digestion, rather than trying to address what happens beyond it – which made it the most scientifically defensible starting point.
NI: Chitosan is an established ingredient used in other contexts. What characteristics made it the right anchor for this formulation compared to other fibers or binding compounds you evaluated?
JG: Chitosan stood out because it combines a well-characterized safety profile with unique physicochemical properties.
It’s a cationic polysaccharide, which is relatively uncommon, as most polysaccharides are neutral or negatively charged. That positive charge allows it to interact with negatively charged particles through electrostatic attraction.
This interaction mechanism has been studied in other contexts, and more recently, there is early research exploring its relevance to microplastics.
Importantly, there was already early clinical research, including an emerging human crossover study that examined this effect, alongside several supporting preclinical data points. In that study, chitosan intake was associated with increased microplastic excretion in stool.
So Chitosan was the right choice compared to other fibers, as it offered the clearest combination of:
- A plausible interaction mechanism
- Early human-relevant data
- Practical usability in a daily supplement format
- GRAS designation
NI: Beyond the hero ingredient, how did you approach building a formulation that supports the intended mechanism, and what roles do apple pectin and baobab play in that system?
JG: Once we established the core interaction mechanism, the rest of the formulation was designed to support how that process functions within the digestive environment.
Apple pectin plays a role as a soluble fiber that can increase viscosity and help create a more effective matrix for particle interaction. There’s also emerging research showing that pectin-rich environments can influence how particles are retained or interact within biological systems.
Baobab contributes polyphenols and prebiotic fibers, which may help support the gut environment more broadly, particularly around oxidative stress and microbiome balance.
Together, this combination of fibers and prebiotic ingredients helps create a more favorable digestive context – not just for interaction with particles, but for supporting normal transit through the gastrointestinal tract. That’s important, because any interaction mechanism ultimately depends on the body’s natural digestive processes to move material through and out.
So rather than acting as independent “active” ingredients, they’re part of a system designed to support the overall digestive context in which these interactions occur.
NI: Much of the research around microplastics is descriptive rather than interventional. What data or types of evidence gave you confidence that this approach was grounded enough to bring to market?
JG: You’re right that much of the current microplastics research is still descriptive. A lot of the field has focused on identifying where microplastics are found: in food, water, air, stool, blood, and human tissues.
What gave us confidence was not one single study, but the convergence of three things.
First, the exposure picture has become very clear. Microplastics are not a niche or occasional exposure. They are consistently showing up across the food system and in human samples.
Second, the intervention point is biologically plausible. We are not trying to make claims about removing microplastics from tissues or reversing downstream effects.
We are focused on the digestive tract, where ingested particles naturally pass and where certain dietary fibers already have a well-understood role in binding, bulking, and supporting normal elimination.
Third, there is early ingredient-level evidence, including human and preclinical data, suggesting that chitosan can support increased microplastic excretion in stool. That matters because it moves the conversation from purely observational research toward an actual, testable mechanism.
So the bar for us was not “is the entire field settled?” The bar was: do we have a safe ingredient profile, a defensible mechanism, early human-relevant evidence, and a responsible way to communicate it? We felt the answer was yes.
Because this is an emerging category, we’re careful to stay grounded in what the current evidence actually supports while actively working to expand that evidence base. Sifts is built on ingredient-level evidence and biological plausibility, not finished-product clinical trials, and we’re actively working to contribute to that next layer of research.
NI: You’ve been careful to avoid detox or cleanse language. What internal guardrails did you set to ensure scientific credibility stayed ahead of marketing claims?
JG: We set very explicit internal guardrails early on.
At a high level, everything we do is designed to stay grounded in what can actually be supported today.
That means avoiding outcome-based claims entirely. We don’t talk about systemic effects. Instead, we focus on mechanism - how ingredients behave during digestion, where the science is strongest and most defensible.
It also means being precise about where the evidence comes from. We anchor our claims at the ingredient level, given that’s where the current human and preclinical data exists, while actively working to generate efficacy data on the finished product itself.
That framework keeps the communication grounded in what can be supported today, while creating a clear path to continue building the evidence base over time.
NI: Looking forward, what do you think this launch signals for formulators and ingredient suppliers as environmental exposure becomes a more common consideration in product development?
JG: I think this marks the early stages of a new category – what you could think of as daily environmental exposure support.
Microplastics are one highly visible example, but they’re part of a broader set of exposures that people are becoming more aware of – things like PFAS, BPA, and other persistent environmental compounds that are now being measured more consistently in the human body.
As that awareness grows, consumers are starting to think about health in a more systems-oriented way. It’s no longer just about nutrient deficiencies – it’s also about how to navigate constant, low-level exposure to these environmental factors.
For formulators and ingredient suppliers, that likely means:
- A greater focus on interaction-based mechanisms, rather than traditional deficiency models
- Increased demand for multi-functional ingredients that can operate within real biological systems
- More collaboration between environmental science and nutrition
At the same time, it raises the bar for both evidence and communication. This is a category that requires a high level of rigor – both in how products are developed and in how they’re communicated.
