A surprising new study by France’s food safety agency, ANSES, has revealed that beverages sold in glass bottles contain significantly higher levels of microplastics than those packaged in plastic bottles or metal cans. The unexpected finding challenges conventional beliefs about glass being a safer and more environmentally friendly packaging option.
What the Study Found
Researchers analyzed various drinks sold across France including soda, beer, lemonade, iced tea, water, and wine and tested for microplastic contamination. Iseline Chaib, a PhD scholar involved in the study, stated that the team had anticipated the opposite outcome. The results showed that:
- Glass bottles contained up to 100 microplastic particles per litre on average.
- Plastic bottles had five to fifty times fewer particles, with much lower contamination levels.
Source of Microplastic Contamination
The main source of microplastics was identified as the paint on the metal caps that seal glass bottles. These caps can rub against each other during storage, causing tiny plastic particles to flake off and enter the beverage. The shape, color, and type of plastic found in the drinks matched those used in the cap paint.
These microplastic particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye, but they easily make their way into the drinks during the bottling and storage process.
Which Drinks Are Most Affected?
The level of contamination varied across beverage types:
- Soft drinks: ~30 microplastic particles per litre
- Lemonade: ~40 particles per litre
- Beer: ~60 particles per litre
- Water: ~1.6 to 4.5 particles per litre (lowest levels overall)
- Wine: Very few microplastics, even in capped glass bottles
Researchers are still uncertain why wine appears to have such low levels of microplastic contamination.
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Is It Harmful?
While no definitive evidence currently proves that these low levels of microplastics are harmful to human health, concerns remain. Microplastics have already been found in food, water, air, and even inside the human body, raising global health and environmental questions.
Scientists are continuing to study the long-term health effects and exposure risks associated with microplastic consumption.
How Can It Be Reduced?
The ANSES study also suggests a potential solution: better cleaning of bottle caps before use. A simple cleaning process using air, water, and alcohol was shown to reduce microplastic contamination by 60 percent.
Conclusion
This study, published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, highlights the unexpected role of packaging materials particularly glass bottle caps in microplastic contamination. It emphasizes the need for improved manufacturing practices and more research on how microplastics affect our health. As plastic pollution continues to make its way into our daily lives, even traditional alternatives like glass may not be as safe as once believed.
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