Tea bag releases microplastics into your brew; New Study.
Microplastics are everywhere- in our oceans, soil, air, snow; and even in your cup of tea!
Plastic tea bags are actually shedding billions of shards of microplastics into their water, according to a new research study.
Scientists at McGill University, Canada, analyzed the effects of placing four different commercial tea bags into the boiling water.
Researchers have now found that a single bag releases around 11.6 billion microplastic particles, and about 3.1 billion even smaller nano plastic particles, into the cup that is thousands of times higher than the number of plastics previously found in any other food or drink.
Health effects of drinking these microparticles are unknown, according to the scientists, who called for further research into the area.
The research team who led the new study on single tea bag releases microplastics into your brew, removed the tea leaves from inside the bags to prevent it from interfering with the results of the study, before boiling the bags in water to simulate the tea making process.
Researchers have found microplastics in various foods, but less research has been done into whether they can be shed into the water during
the brewing of tea and any other hot drinks.Many of the tea producers use polypropylene to seal their tea bags.
Humans eat an average of five grams of plastic each week, according to a separate research study earlier this year which is the equivalent of a credit card’s weight in plastic.
In its first review of the health risks of microplastics in tap and bottled water, the World Health Organization said last month that these microplastics do not appear to pose any health risks at current levels; but the key finding came with a big caveat — the review said available information was very limited and more research studies were needed on microplastics to know how they affect the human health.
We need to know more about the health impact of these microplastics because they are everywhere including in our drinking water, said Dr. Maria Neira, the director of the Department of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health at the WHO.
