Salt and sugar sold in the country have been found to contain hazardous microplastics (plastic particles). It has been revealed that no brand is exempt from this. A study titled ‘Microplastics in Salt and Sugar‘ by the research organization ‘Toxics Link‘ has shown that there are microplastics in branded and unbranded salt and sugar. The study was carried out by this organization taking 5 types of sugars and 10 types of salts. The details were revealed on Tuesday. Among those studied by the institute are table, rock, sea, and native raw salts. These are purchased online by the company.
Salt and sugar contain microplastics in various forms. They appeared in the form of fiber, pellets, films, fragments.
SALT: It has been revealed in the study that there are microplastic particles from 6.91 up to 89.15 per kg of salt. It is noteworthy that they are in high number (89.15) in iodized salt, which is widely used in homes. Organic rock salt has the lowest 6.7 microplastics.
SUGAR: It has been found that 11.85 to 68.25 microplastics are present in a kg of sugar. They are found to be high in non-organic sugar.
- Microplastics in products of all companies in the country
- Size from 0.1 mm to 5 mm
- Severe impact on health
- ‘Toxics Link’ revealed in study
- Iodized salt contains the highest levels of microplastics. They appear in the form of multi-colored thin fiber and films.
Consumption is high among Indians
Previous surveys have revealed that Indians consume an average of 10.98 grams of salt per day. It has been found that 10 spoonfuls of sugar are taken. This is much higher than the World Health Organization standards.
Very dangerous
Microplastics are causing serious concern internationally. These cause severe damage to health and environment. They enter the human body through food, water and air. Recent research has shown that microplastics are present in the lungs, heart and breastmilk and in pregnant babies.
“For specific actions only” – Toxics Link
Ravi Agarwal, founder-director of Toxics Link, said that the study was done to add more information to the scientific database on microplastics in order to take concrete steps in the fight against microplastics internationally. The presence of high microplastics in salt and sugar is a matter of grave concern. “This underscores the urgent need to comprehensively investigate the effects on human health” said Satish Sinha, Associate Director of Toxics Link.
