Amid discussion of the presence of harmful microplastics, or tiny plastic particles, in toothpaste, high levels of the same material have now been found in soybean oil, milk and sugar — everyday items in the diet. The alarming findings have caused widespread concern among the public.
According to experts and researchers, toxic plastic particles are mixing readily into these essential foods through food processing, plastic packaging and environmental pollution.
The rate of microplastics in food
According to researchers’ calculations, through soybean oil alone an adult consumes an average of 17.65 microplastic particles a day and about 6,441 a year.
The situation is even more worrying for children. A child sends an average of 77.21 particles a day, and about 28,180 a year, into the stomach with food.
A recent study found microplastics at worrying levels in various essential foods. According to the data, loose soybean oil contains 45,000 to 70,000 microplastic particles per litre, while bottled soybean oil contains 44,000 to 54,000 per litre. The harmful particles were also found in milk: processed or packaged milk contains an average of 156.06 particles per 10 millilitres, while raw milk is somewhat lower at an average of 93.39 per 10 millilitres.
In the case of sugar, an average of about 403 microplastic particles were found per kilogram of loose sugar and about 322 in branded packaged sugar.
Three ways plastic enters food
Researchers have identified three main routes by which microplastics enter food.
1. Packaging and wrapping: direct contact with plastic bottles, packets and sacks.
2. Factory machinery: through friction in machines during processing, plastic and aluminium pipes, and workers’ use of plastic gloves.
3. Environmental pollution: more than half of the roughly 8,000 tonnes of plastic waste produced in Bangladesh every day is not properly managed. This waste, present in the soil, water and air of the environment, breaks down and enters the food chain.
What the research says
A study led by Professor Md Omar Faruk of the nutrition and food technology department of Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) found harmful polymers such as PTFE (Teflon), PET, nylon-6 and PVC in milk samples.
He said milk comes into contact with plastic at every stage — collection from the farm, transport and processing. Because milk plays a large role in children’s food, they are at the greatest risk.
A joint study by Jahangirnagar University and the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), published in the international journal Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, found plastic present in soybean oil at unimaginable levels.
The head of the research team and a teacher in the environmental science department of Jahangirnagar University, Dr Shafi Muhammad Tarek, described the levels as “terrible” and urged urgent action at the government and private levels.
Another study published in the same journal, carried out on seven types of sugar in Dhaka, found the particles ranged in size from 12 micrometres to 3.19 millimetres. Transport and plastic sacks were the main cause.
Earlier, testing 34 toothpastes of 19 brands sold in the Bangladesh market, researchers found plastic particles in 26 of them. Of six toothpastes made for children, four contained the material.
Routes into the human body and health risks
According to international researchers, plastic particles smaller than 130 micrometres can mix directly into human blood.
A researcher at Imperial College London, Stephanie Wright, said heating or high temperatures and hot water accelerate the release of particles from plastic. The tiny particles that reach the blood can cause digestive complications, hormonal imbalance and inflammation, and over the long term damage the cells of organs.
Studies around the world have detected microplastics in the arteries of the human heart, in joint bones and skeletal muscle, and in the brain. A professor at the University of New Mexico, Matthew Campen, said 10 times more plastic particles were found in the brains of dead people who had dementia than in those of healthy people.
The director of the ecosystems division of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Susan Gardner, said 2.7 million tonnes of microplastics entered the environment worldwide in 2020, a figure that could double by 2040. She stressed reducing the use of plastic in the packaging and transport of food.
The response of BSTI and the government
The standards body BSTI has called for awareness rather than panic over microplastics in the situation that has arisen. In a press release, the organisation said it would not be right to call any brand or product unsafe without full scientific and legal verification. No international standard has yet been set for particles present unintentionally in toothpaste. But it is collecting information from research institutions, manufacturers and importers, and legal action will be taken if standards are breached.
Describing the matter as a global public health crisis, the government’s information and broadcasting adviser, Zahed Ur Rahman, said: “The government is treating this matter of public safety with great seriousness. It is not confined to toothpaste or a particular product; it has spread to food and water. Coordinated steps will be taken quickly to solve the problem.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report