Microplastics could have made their way into this really common food additive, and honestly,
I'm feeling pretty salty about it.
We’ve heard the term “microplastics” ad nauseum and they’re pretty much what
they sound like; plastic debris that has been weathered down into tiny fragments, usually
5 millimeters long or less.
When we talk about it, we mostly focus on how this trash affects our ocean life.
We regularly find plastic inside the the bellies of birds and whales.
And for our shellfish fans, a study has shown that European consumers can ingest up to eleven
thousand plastic particles a year from eating shellfish.
So, the answer is let’s just avoid all seafood forever right?
Weeell, it’s not going to be that easy.
In fact, microplastics are closer to your kitchen table than you think.
Ever heard of a little thing called I dunno, SALT.
YES.
SALT.
Sea salt to be exact.
Those 0.3 millimeter salt grains have microscopic plastic particles in them.
A recent study from Nature found microplastics inside the grains of 16 different salt brands
taken from 8 different countries, which held plastic fibers and beads as small as 160 microns.
The earth is literally taking our trash with a grain of salt.
(btw the study conveniently didn’t list brands, don’t even look for it I already
tried.)
The types of plastics inside these salty crystals are important too.
The polymer particles found were mostly polypropylene and polyethylene which are two types of durable
plastics that are used in things like grocery bags, plastic bottle caps, prescription bottles,
lunch boxes and more.
And this isn’t the first time we’ve tested for microplastics in our salt.
Even earlier in 2017, researchers tested twenty-one different types of Spanish table salts and
ALL twenty one of them were found to have polymer particles of polyethylene-terephthalate,
which is used to make plastic bottles.
So, the answer is let’s just avoid all shellfish AAND salt forever right? Well avoiding them
might not be the best strategy since microplastics are just everywhere.
We’re finding it in our oceans, fertilizer, food chains, and even the air we breathe.
But we really shouldn’t be surprised.
This polymer, polyethylene-terephthalate, you know that one that’s used for plastic
bottles, yeah it takes up to 400 years to naturally decompose.
Plastic hasn’t even been around that long yet.
It was invented in 1907, but since the 1950’s, plastic production has ramped up and now we
make over 300 million metric tons globally.
And up to 12.7 million tons of plastic waste enters our oceans every year.
It’s barely been over a century and we already have plastic in our salt guys.
But that’s the thing isn’t it?
Microplastics haven’t been around long enough for us to really understand their long-term
harmful effects in human body.
What we DO know from past research is that the accumulation of microplastics can cause
particle, chemical, and microbial hazards.
Particle toxicity may occur if a critical mass of pieces are localized and cause an
immune response from your body (which your body can’t do much about anyway).
Chemical toxicity could occur since the particles may excrete deadly pollutants they’ve picked
up from the environment.
Plus, what plastic is made out of isn’t too good for you.
But when it comes to the salt, we ultimately haven’t found a dosage of microplastics
that is harmful to us...yet.
The production of plastic is still on the rise and it’s expected to triple by 2050.
So our exposure to it will likely increase, and we’ll probably have to change the way
we think about our plastic production and consumption.
If we’ve already done this much damage, how much are we going to see in another 30
years?
I know I don’t want a dash of plastic to go with my dash of salt.
If you want some simple ways to reduce your plastic consumption, you can invest in reusable
utensils, don’t wrap your compostable food in plastic bags, give up on gum, reuse containers,
buy reusable water bottles, or any of the hundreds of other ways you could prevent plastic
pollution. It’s not too late to change our ways, and
if you still have doubts about all this then, go ahead and reach for that salt shaker.
I’m sure you’ll be fine :) If you think you’re swimming in microplastics
now, you’ve got nothing on Ben Lecomte, the swimmer attempting to cross the Pacific
Ocean, RIGHT.
NOW.
He’s out there as we speak, along with a team of researchers that will be the first
to collect data by hand from one end of the ocean to the other and Seeker has all the
latest updates and info, to learn about more about his journey check out this video here.
I’m Maren, Thanks for watching.