There’s plastic in your fancy sea salt, study says

[n2doc]

There’s plastic in your salt.

That’s the finding of a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Scientific American reports:

When researchers analyzed fifteen brands of common table salt bought at supermarkets across China, they found among the grains of seasoning micro-sized particles of the common water bottle plastic polyethylene terephthalate, as well as polyethylene, cellophane, and a wide variety of other plastics.

The highest level of plastic contamination was found in salt sourced from the ocean: The researchers measured more than 1,200 particles of plastic per lb of sea salt. The team, led by Huahong Shi of East China Normal University also found tiny particles of plastic in salt sourced from briny lakes, briny wells, and salt mines, although at lower levels—between 15 and 800 particles/ lb.

Where’s all that plastic coming from? Microbeads, for one — those tiny bits of plastic in your face wash that go down the drain and into the water table, where they eventually end up in the ocean, and then your stomach. That’s not good because microplastics soak up cancer-causing and endocrine-disrupting pollutants in the water and deposit them in your body.

This study looked specifically at salt sold in Chinese markets, but is it possible that salt sold in the U.S. is contaminated with microplastics as well? Definitely, according to Sherri Mason, professor at SUNY Fredonia, and an expert on microplastics. “Plastics have become such a ubiquitous contaminant, I doubt it matters whether you look for plastic in sea salt on Chinese or American supermarket shelves,” she told Scientific American.

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Crap in your food, plastics in your food, toxics in your food….

[yeoman6987]

1. Soon we won't be able to eat anything

Maybe that's their goal. It's getting to be a daily thing. I don't trust any of it after the egg fiasco. Eat eggs....don't eat eggs.....no really you can eat eggs really...oops sorry no eggs....and so on. Eat everything you chose just try to in moderation. They seem to want us to live forever too.....no thanks! 80ish years are enough.

[jtuck004]

2. "their goal..." < is profit at the cost of humanity ceasing to exist. As long as they make more $

until it all blows up.

And we, the vast majority, sit here and watch. Our televisions.

[LiberalArkie]

4. After all we are just Soylent Green to them.

[yeoman6987]

8. Yep! So true.

[DirkGently]

3. Those microbeads have to go.

They're polluting everything, and they don't even taste that good.

[retrowire]

5. son of a bitch. i love salt. n/t

[niyad]

6. thank goodness for hating salt.

[Unknown Beatle]

7. If you think this is bad.

Just wait if and when the TPP becomes law. The FDA allows a certain percentage of bugs in our food. Many moons ago, my sister was eating potato chips when she almost bit into one that looked like a moth. Sure enough, it was a fried and salted moth.

But I digress. If the TPP isn't stopped, looked forward to eating fried bugs galore disguised as food. Ground up into chili, spices, cereals, and a lot of other foods. But it doesn't end there, fish are going to laden with mercury. I could go on but I think you get the gist of my post.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Expecting to hear about these microbeads getting into someone's bloodstream and causing a stroke.

[BeanMusical]

10. Great garbage patch(es):

[Nihil]

11. Sea salt is to be expected (sadly); the others not so much ...

> also found tiny particles of plastic in salt sourced from briny lakes, briny wells,
> and salt mines, although at lower levels

The first two of the above depends on the source of the "brine" in the first place
(i.e., is it a seawater replenished liquid or produced through groundwater rise?
If the former then yes, the marine liquid will carry in the same microparticles
that are found throughout the sea).

The last one is proof that it is in the *fresh* water being used to extract the salt
as there was absolutely no plastic around when those salt beds were being laid down.

The microplastic pollution is being introduced to a pristine environment by the
extraction process. This means that it is also being consumed by people & animals
in the belief that the fresh water is, well, fresh and unpolluted.


(ETA: Alternatively, given that this is China, it might be evidence that the supermarkets
and/or producers are mis-labelling marine salt as mined salt ... anything is possible in
that environmental wonderland ...)