Shocking: Every Indian salt and sugar brand contaminated with microplastics, says study

Microplastics contamination: In a disturbing revelation, a recent study has found that every single Indian salt and sugar brand—whether big or small, packaged or unpackaged—contains microplastics. This startling revelation has sparked concerns about potential health risks linked with these ubiquitous kitchen staples.

The study, titled “Microplastics in Salt and Sugar,” was conducted by environmental research organisation Toxics Link and was published on Tuesday. Researchers tested 10 different types of salt, including table salt, rock salt, sea salt, and local raw salt, as well as five types of sugar from both online and local markets.

The findings were alarming: microplastics were present in all salt and sugar samples tested, in various forms such as fibers, pellets, films, and fragments. These microplastics ranged in size from 0.1 mm to 5 mm. The most shocking revelation was the high levels of microplastics found in iodized salt, which contained multi-coloured thin fibers and films.

Ravi Agarwal, founder-director of Toxics Link, explained the purpose behind the study: “Our aim was to add to the growing body of scientific evidence on microplastics. We hope that our findings will help ensure that the global plastic treaty addresses this issue in a concrete and focused manner.”

Ravi Agarwal also expressed the organisation’s desire to spark policy changes and encourage further research into technological solutions that could mitigate the risks associated with microplastic exposure.

The study’s co-author and associate director of Toxics Link, Satish Sinha, said: “The fact that we found substantial amounts of microplastics in all salt and sugar samples is deeply concerning.”  “This discovery demands urgent and comprehensive research into the long-term health effects of microplastics on humans," he added.

According to the report, the concentration of microplastics in the salt samples ranged from 6.71 to 89.15 pieces per kg of dry weight. Alarmingly, iodized salt had the highest concentration, with 89.15 pieces per kg, while organic rock salt had the lowest, with 6.70 pieces per kg. The situation in sugar samples was not much better; the concentration of microplastics ranged from 11.85 to 68.25 pieces per kg, with the highest levels found in non-organic sugar.

Microplastics, which are tiny plastic particles that result from the degradation of larger plastic items, have become a growing global concern due to their potential to harm both human health and the environment. These particles can enter the human body through food, water, and air, and recent studies have even detected microplastics in human organs such as the lungs, heart, breast milk, and unborn babies.

The implications of these findings are particularly troubling given the dietary habits of the average Indian. Previous studies have shown that Indians consume around 10.98 grams of salt and roughly 10 spoons of sugar every day—both figures far exceed the World Health Organization’s recommended limits.

The presence of microplastics in everyday food items raises serious questions about the safety of our food supply. While the long-term health impacts of microplastics are still being studied, the fact that these particles are now so pervasive in our food and environment suggests that we are only beginning to understand the full extent of the problem.

This study is not just a wake-up call for the scientific community and policymakers but also for every individual who unknowingly ingests these harmful particles daily. The question remains: What will be done to address this pervasive problem before it’s too late?