All Indian Salts And Sugar Brands Have Harmful Microplastics, Says New Study

A recent study by the environmental research organisation Toxics Links on Tuesday has baffled many Indians. We have all been consuming microplastics all this time in our sugar and salt. Whether the brands are big, small, organic, packaged, or unpackaged, all Indian salt and sugar brands contain microplastics, finds the study.

What are microplastics?

They are solid plastic particles or synthetic fibres of the size between 1 µm and 5,000 µm, or micrometres. They are made of various polymer types, which include polyethylene, polypropylene, polythelene terephthalate and it can lead to various environmental as well as health issues.

Some of the health issues associated with the consumption of microplastic are infertility in both males and females, cancers, neurodevelopment disorders, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

These particles, though minuscule, can enter the human body via ingestion, inhalation or even direct skin contact. They are found everywhere and often accumulate, break down and eventually integrate into the food chain. This is what makes it a greater threat.

The easiest way of consuming microplastic is through food, with salt being the primary contributor among fruits and vegetables, cited the recent study.

The report, Microplastics in Salt and Sugar stated that the highest concentration of microplastics was found in a branded iodised packaged salt sample.

How was the test conducted?

The researchers conducted lab tests on ten different varieties of the common salt, including table salt, rock salt, sea salt and local raw salt, while five sugar samples purchased online and from local markets were tested.

What were the findings?

Out of the ten salts, only two of the samples were unbranded, while only one sugar sample was unbranded.

Out of the ten salts, three were packaged iodised salt, three were rock salt, two were organic brands, two sea salt samples and two were local brands.

The study found that the microplastics in sugar and salt were of eight different colours. These were transparent, white, blue, red, black, violet, green, and yellow.

The size and quantity too varied. The smallest was 6.71, while the biggest was 89.15 pieces per kilogram of dry weight and 0.1mm to 5mm respectively.

Forms of microplastics

The report said these were found in the forms of fibres, pellets, films, and fragments. The study also found that the highest concentration of microplastics, at 89.15 pieces per kilogram of dry weight was found in the packaged iodised salt sample. While the lowest, at 6.70 pieces per kilogram of dry weight was found in an organic rock salt sample.

For the five sugar samples, the organic sugar sample had the lowest amount og microplastic at 11.85 pieces per kilogram, whereas the highest was at 68.25 pieces per kilogram in a non-organic sugar sample.

Here too, the sizes varied. In sugar sample, the scale raged from 01.mm to 5mm, and were found in the form of fibres, films and pellets.

Sources of microplastic

In salt, it comes from the plastic waste, clothing fibres, and microbeads in personal care products. The report also said that the distribution depends on various factors, including source of salt, location of its production, and the surrounding environment.

While for sugar, the direct sources include sugar cane processing, purification, refinement and packaging of sugar. There are indirect sources too, that can be both agricultural and industrial, said the report.

On an average, an Indian consumes 10.98 grams of salt per day, which is more than double the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 5 grams per day, the study said. “With the per capita consumption of sugar of approximately 10 spoons per day, average Indian eats almost 18 kilogram of sugar per year.”