Glass bottles can contain more microplastics than plastic bottles, study discoveries

Microplastics, plastic fragments of 5 millimeters or more, were found in almost all parts of the human body. To limit the exhibition, many people replaced plastic containers with glass. However, a recent study has revealed that some glass bottles contain higher levels of microplastics than plastic bottles.

Microplastics probably came from drinking ceilings

French researchers have measured microplastic contamination in water, soda, beer and wine in different containers, including cans, plastic and glass bottles.

According to the results, all samples contained microplastics, but drinks sold in glass containers were generally more contaminated.

The microplastics found in the glass string drink were the same color as the paint on the cap of the bottle. Many of these caps have been striped, which could have helped introduce microplastics into these drinks.

“I think there is a false feeling of security when we use glass. What they have found is that it is probably linked to plastic ceilings, what I suppose is an area that people have not really thought about,” said Mary Mr. Johnson, MD, PHD, a principal researcher in the study.

The glass wine bottles tested in the study did not contain high levels of microplastics, potentially because they were mainly sealed with caps rather than painted caps.

Although the study was conducted in France, the researchers did not specify if the drinks were all produced or manufactured in this country. Additional studies are necessary to determine whether drinks sold in the United States would have the same levels of contamination.

Researchers could not detect all microplastics

Before deciding to return to plastic containers, consider how microplastic measurements were carried out in the French study. The researchers used FTIR spectroscopy, a popular microplastic analysis which does not identify the particles less than 20 to 30 micrometers (µm).

In another recent study, a team of researchers has measured the quantity of nanoplastics in bottled water, which measures less than 1 µm. The researchers found 240,000 plastic fragments in a liter of bottled water. 90% of them were classified as nanoplastics.

Given that the French study did not have this sensitive to a microparticles test, they would have missed particles below 20 µm, a main scientist at Consumer Reports told Michael Hansen, told Merywell Health.

It is impossible to fully avoid microplastics

Microplastics have been discovered in glass bottles, ultra-transformed foods, rice, table salt and canned fish. Studies have shown that plastic containers in the microwave and the brewing of commercial tea bags can release billions of micro and nanoplastic particles.

Since microplastics seem to appear everywhere, you may wonder how to limit exposure.

“The gel or microwave should not be done in plastic. If possible, use glass. If you are concerned about these things and you use glass containers for storage, make sure it has no plastic on top,” said Hansen.

We ingest the microplastics of air, food and water, but we do not know how harmful they are for our health. Research in this area is still evolving. You cannot completely avoid all microplastics, but you can always try to minimize your exposure.

“Studies have emerged that microplastic exposure is linked to things like dementia, cardiovascular disease, mortality and fertility, so I don’t think we know where the threshold is,” said Johnson.