The topic of microplastics in fish, shellfish, sea salt, bottled water and – as a result – in the human body – excites the minds. Plastic in us for a whole credit card? This is both scary and incredible at the same time. Where are the main points of human contact with microplastics? How to avoid overconsumption of it with food and drinks?
A study carried out by a group of German scientists, voiced by Jana Weisser, PhD candidate at the Munich University of Technology in the framework of the just past BioFach / Vivaness-2021, has clarified a lot for me personally. And even a little reassuring. Until. I offer a synopsis and a guide to action.
Microplastic: what is it and the main routes of infection
Microplastics are plastic particles ranging from 0.1 to 5,000 microns (micrometers). It can be primary (for example, plastic granules in cosmetic scrubs or acrylic fibers from your sweater or “eco-coat”) and secondary – particles separated from tires, as well as formed as a result of the decay of plastic waste in the ocean or on land. The main modes of human exposure to microplastics are inhalation (air) and absorption with food and drink.
To minimize the inhalation of microplastics, it is necessary to walk along the highway as little as possible (tires are the main polyuter of the planet with microplastics) and limit acrylic, polyester and other synthetics for personal use. We already wrote about this, but Yana Weisser’s research is about microplastics in food, so let’s focus on how to limit the consumption of microplastics at lunch.
MICROPLASTIC IN DRINKS
Beer: not detected White wine: incomprehensible soft drinks: incomprehensible butylated water: 0 – 317 mh / l (microparticles per liter) tea in plastic bags: 5800 – 2.3 10⁶ mh / serving (microparticles per serving) milk: incomprehensible mains water: 0 – 0.066 mh / l (microparticles per liter)
MICROPLASTIC IN FOOD
plastic wrapped meat: 4.0 – 18.7 mh / kg (microparticles per kg) vegetables: incomprehensible fruits: incomprehensible fish: 0 – 10.5 mh / g (microparticles per gram) fish: 0 – 7 mph / fish (microparticles per fish) honey: incomprehensible salt: 0.55 – 0.68 mh / g (microparticles per gram)
From these data, it is clear that one should fear, first of all, mussels and bottled water. Tea bags made of nylon should be avoided altogether. Sea salt contains quite a lot of microplastics, but given that we do not consume much of it, it should also not cause undue concern. Tap water is safe. As for fish, the researcher noted that most of the microplastic particles are found in the food tract of fish, which we usually do not eat. Meat in plastic packaging should not be a concern at all, as the detectable number of particles is too small.