we fill up a plastic bottle in order to reduce waste
We're increasingly aware of how plastic is polluting our environment. Much recent attention has focused on how microplastics - tiny pieces ranging from 5 millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter - are filling the seas and working their way into the creatures that live in them. That means these ocean microplastics are entering the food chain and, ultimately, our bodies.
But fish and shellfish aren't our only food sources that can contain microplastics. And, in fact, other sources that don't come from the sea might be much more worrying.
A portion of consumer-grade mussels in Europe could contain about 90 microplastics. Consumption is likely to vary greatly between nations and generations, but avid mussel eaters might eat up to 11,000 microplastics a year. Situs Slot di Depan Bisa Beli Free Spin Jackpot
It's harder to know how many microplastics we might be consuming from fish. Most studies to date have only analysed the stomach and gut konten of these organisms, which are usually removed prior to consumption. But one studi has found microplastics in fish liver, suggesting particles can get from digestive tissues to other bodi parts. Situs Slot Online
Microplastics have also been found in canned fish. Numbers identified were low, so the average consumer might only eat up to five microplastics from a portion of fish this way. The particles found might also come from the canning process or from the air.
Another marine food source of microplastics is sea salt. One kg can contain over 600 microplastics. If you eat the maksimum daily intake of 5 grams of salt, this would mean you would typically consume three microplastics a day (although many people eat much more than the recommended amount).
However, other studies have found varying amounts of microplastics in sea salt, possibly because of different extraction sistems used. This is a widespread persoalan in microplastics research that makes it hard or impossible to compare studies. For example, one studi seems to only have looked for microfibres (tiny strands of artificial materials such as polyester) while a further studi only looked for microplastics larger than 200 micrometres.
The sea salt studi mentioned above didn't attempt to remove and count all the microplastics from its salt samples and instead gave an estimate based on the proportion of particles that were recovered. This means it showed 1 kg of salt contained at least 600 microplastics - but the actual pribadi could be a lot higher.