Tea drinkers at risk of ingesting billions of plastic particles
A single tea bag may leave billions of microplastic particles in your cup, a new study has found.
Research published by the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology discovered that one plastic tea bag released about 11.6 billion microplastic and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into brewing water – thousands of times higher than those previously recorded in other foods.
“We were very, very surprised,” Dr Nathalie Tufenkji, a professor of chemical engineering at McGill University and co-author of the study, told Global News.
“We thought [plastic teabags] maybe release a couple of hundred [plastic] particles, maybe a few thousand. So we were really shocked when we saw they’re releasing billions of particles into a cup of tea.”
The study, which analysed four different commercial teas in plastic packaging, found that the teabags shed two different types of plastic particles that are invisible to the naked eye: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon.
The McGill University researchers said it is not known whether the ingestion of micro- and nanoplastics could have adverse effects on human’s health.
In its first report on the health risks of plastic in tap and bottled water released last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) said microplastics “don’t appear to pose a health risk at current levels”.
However, the WHO said the findings were based on “limited information” and called for more research on the matter.
Researcher Laura Hernandez told BBC shoppers should avoid plastic packaging instead of specific brands.
Some tea manufacturers are moving away from paper in favour of plastic mesh to create a pyramid shape, which was claimed as helping the tea leaves infuse better. Many teabags on the market also use polypropylene as a sealant, preventing the bag from breaking in the cup.
“We encourage consumers to choose loose teas that is sold without packaging or other teas that come in paper teabags,” said Hernandez.
“There is really no need to package tea in plastic, which at the end of the day becomes single-use plastic, which is contributing to you not just ingesting plastic but to the environmental burden of plastic.”
Last year, a study of 250 water bottles from nine different countries revealed that microplastics were found in nearly all major brands.
Sherri Mason, a professor of chemistry at the State University of New York at Fredonia and the research’s leader said the study is not about “pointing fingers” at certain brands.
“It’s really showing that this is everywhere, that plastic has become such a pervasive material in our society, and it’s pervading water — all of these products that we consume at a very basic level,” she told BBC.
A study released by the University of Newcastle in June suggested that the average person consumes 5 grams of plastic every week, or about a credit card’s weight.