Is there plastic in your salt? | India News

That plastic wrapper you flip or coffee cups you bury in beach sands could be coming back, in a different form, in your table salt.A study by researchers in Tamil Nadu has triggered concerns that the food on our table could contain microplastics. Researchers found microplastics smaller than 100 micrometre (one micrometre is one thousandth of a millimetre) in 25 samples of salt collected from sea salt pans in Tuticorin, which are sold across the country and exported to China and Japan. large74095805In Tuticorin, salt pans closer to the coast use seawater, stored in ponds and left to crystallise, under controlled methods. Experts said there is no separate technique to remove microplastics during the processing of raw salt. While 60% of the pollutants studied were microplastics, a majority of them were identified as polymers-polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon and cellulose, as researchers traced their sources to domestic waste, fishing nets and textile industry waste, which are routinely dumped into the sea.“Out of samples we collected in 25 locations, those from salt pans in Tuticorin had microplastic levels higher than those collected outside city limits. This could have a link to plastic waste dumped in Buckle Channel connecting the sea,” said Prof S Selvam, department of geology, V O Chidambaram College, Tuticorin. boxcontent medium74095951Method used in the study* Samples of salt, each weighing 1.5kg, collected from 25 different locations in Tuticorin salt pans* 60% of the microplastics measured less than 100 micrometre (micrometre = one-thousandth of a millimetre)* Microplastics found include polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon and cellulose* Sea salt crystallised in Tuticorin city contained higher level of microplastics than those collected in other areas Source of microplastics* Dumping of plastic waste in the sea* Domestic waste like tea and milk covers, plastic shopping bags, medicine wrappers were main source of polyethylene and polypropylene contaminantsSo far, studies have shown evidence of microplastics in refined packaged salt in refined packaged salt. This is the first time a study has been conducted for salt pans, he said. The study was jointly conducted by researchers from various institutions like Bharathidasan University, Presidency College and universities in Vietnam and South Korea.While researchers studied crystallised salt picked up directly from the salt pans, the study did not involve analysing the same samples after processing in refineries. 74095836Two IIT Bombay researchers had found 626 microplastic particles in salt brands in a 2018 study. 63% of microplastic particles were in the form of fragments and 37% were fibres. “As of now there are no technique where microplastics can be removed,” said Prof Amritanshu Shriwastav, one of the researchers of the 2018 study.The 2018 study, titled 'Contamination of Indian Sea Salts with Microplastics and a Potential Prevention Strategy' found that 626 microplastic particles were found in the tested samples. It further revealed that Indians were consuming about 117 micrograms (0.117 milligrams) of microplastic annually if the average person has a daily salt intake of 5 grams.boxcontent medium74096072Previous studies* 2019: A study in Taiwan showed 43 microplastics particles in 4.4kg of salt*2018: IIT Bombay study found 626 microplastic particles in several table salt brands* 2018: Researchers in South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia found presence of microplastics in 36 of 39 saltbrands sampled worldwide* 2017: A study in China found 550-681 particles/kg in sea salts, 43-364 particles/ kg in lake salts and 7-204 particles/kg in rock/well salts