Just one week after bottled water was shown to be filled with pollutants, new research claims that even seemingly harmless table salt is teeming with microplastics.
Subtle amounts of plastic, fibers, films, and pellets were detected in each of the twenty-one table salt brands tested by researchers from Indonesia’s Andalas University.
These molecules have been associated with infertility, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.
People ingest almost a thousand microplastics a year, as the scientists found up to 33 particles per kilogram. People should not consume more than seven grams of table salt each day.
Particles of plastic less than five millimeters in size are known as microplastics. Most originate from non-biodegradable, one-time-use plastics like water bottles and food containers.
Even in the snow of Mount Everest, microplastics have been found, according to studies. However, experts are most worried about the presence of these tiny particles in our food, water, and air.
The new research was published in the Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management. It states that salt may be polluted during its creation and by water obtained from the sea, including microplastics, organic debris, and sand particles.
The research used well-known brands of table salt that are sold in Indonesia.
But according to Volza, a worldwide export data provider, the United States, Singapore, and the Czech Republic are the top three destinations for the country’s sea salt.
Using 21 different brands found in stores and marketplaces, the researchers set out to determine if the table salt used by most of the world’s population included microscopic plastics.
To extract microplastics, 50 grams of salt was weighed from each packet and mixed with water to eliminate organic contaminants.
The remaining materials were mixed in a flask and then heated to 149 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes while swirling at 300 rpm.
‘Different brands of salt exhibit variances in the morphologies of microplastics.
The researchers discovered that the microscopic particles came in various colors, including translucent, black, blue, yellow, and red.
Spain is another source of salt imported to the US; this salt was also shown to contain microplastics.
In 2017, researchers at the University of Alicante discovered that one kilogram of salt from the European nation contains as many as 280 molecules.
