Your branded salt and sugar contain microplastics: Study

A recent study has found that all Indian salt and sugar brands, small or big, packaged and unpackaged, sold both online and in local markets, contain microplastics.

The study by Toxics Link, an advocacy group, found that a higher concentration of microplastics was found in “iodised salt” in the form of multicoloured thin fibres and films.

Exposure to microplastics or nanoplastics is emerging as a major global concern as it adversely impacts health and environment. Studies have found microplastics release harmful chemicals, causing various health problems including reproductive disorders, developmental delays, and cancer in humans.

Varieties of commonly used salts including table salt, rock salt, sea salt, and local raw salt and five sugar samples were purchased online and from local markets for the lab test. Except for two salt samples and one sugar sample, all others were branded.

Ravi Agarwal, Founder Director of Toxics Link said, “The objective of our study was to add to the existing scientific database on microplastics, so that the global plastic treaty addresses this issue in a concrete and focussed manner. The aim is also to trigger policy action and attract the attention of researchers for possible technological interventions to reduce the exposure risks to microplastics.”

Of the 10 salt samples tested, three were packaged iodised salt, three rock salt samples including two organic brands, two sea salt samples and two were local brands.

The quantity and size of microplastics varied in different salt samples ranging from 6.71 to 89.15 pieces per kg of dry weight and 0.1 mm to 5 mm. They were found in the form of fibres, pellets, films, and fragments.

The highest (89.15 pieces per kg of dry weight) concentration of microplastics was found in one packaged iodised salt sample. The lowest (6.70 pieces per kg of dry weight) was found in an organic rock salt sample.

The microplastics found in the sugar and salt samples were of eight different colours: transparent, white, blue, red, black, violet, green and yellow.  The size of the microplastics found in different sugar samples varied from 0.1 mm to 5 mm and were mostly in form of fibres, followed by films and pellets.

Among the five sugar samples tested, the lowest number of microplastic pieces was found in an organic sugar sample (11.85 pieces per kg) and the highest concentration was 68.25 pieces per kg in a non-organic sugar sample.

Tiny plastic particles enter the human body through food, water and air, and have, in recent times, been found in human internal organs including lungs, heart, and breast milk and also in bloodstream and fetal placental tissues.

Studies have already found that exposure to microplastics increase the risk of inflammation and cancer of lungs, heart attack, endocrine disruption, weight gain, insulin resistance, and infertility.