Is there plastic in your salt and sugar? 

All brands of salt and sugar sold in the indian market have been found to contain microscopic plastic particles (microplastics), whether they are big brands or small brands, packaged or sold in the open. This claim has been made in a research published on Tuesday. Environmental research organization 'Toxics Link' conducted this research titled 'Microplastics in salt and Sugar'. The organization researched 10 types of salt including table salt, rock salt, sea salt and local raw salt to reach this conclusion.

Also examined five types of sugar purchased online and from local markets. During the research, the presence of microplastics was detected in all the samples of salt and sugar, which were present in various forms including fibers, pellets, films and pieces. The size of these microplastics ranged from 0.1 millimeters (mm) to five mm.

According to the research paper, the highest amount of microplastics was found in the form of multicolored thin fibers and films in iodized salt. ravi Agarwal, founder-director of Toxics Link, said, "The aim of our research was to contribute to the existing scientific database on microplastics so that the global plastic treaty can address this issue in a concrete and focused manner."

Need for extensive research

Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, said, "It is worrying that a significant amount of microplastics were found in all the salt and sugar samples in our research. There is a need for immediate and extensive research on the long-term health effects of microplastics on human health." According to the research paper, the concentration of microplastics in salt samples ranged from 6.71 to 89.15 pieces per kilogram of salt. According to the research, the concentration of microplastics was highest in iodized salt (89.15 pieces per kilogram), while it was lowest in organic rock salt (6.70 pieces per kilogram).