In a new research study, it has been found that over 90% of worldwide salt brands have contaminated their salt with plastic.
Having the word ‘sea’ on the packaging does not make your salt better if anything it increases the chances of ingesting plastic, as the highest levels of plastic were found within sea salt.
This research revealed that only 3 out of 39 salt brands were plastic free, and all the rest were filled with microplastics the size of a sesame seed.
Plastic rubbish getting dumped into the oceans are the reason for this contamination, as it gets broken down into tiny pieces due to friction. When creating sea salt, companies use evaporation of the ocean water, and this leaves behind trace materials mixed within the grains of salt.
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
This recent study shows how vast this problem has become and how fast companies need to react in order to reduce their plastic use.
East Asia Greenpeace campaigner, Mikyoung Kim, said: “Recent studies have found plastics in seafood, wildlife, tap water, and now in salt. It’s clear that there is no escape from this plastics crisis, especially as it continues to leak into our waterways and oceans,”
“We need to stop plastic pollution at its source,” said Kim. “For the health of people and our environment, it’s incredibly important that corporations reduce their reliance on throwaway plastics immediately.”
Words: Victoria Locke | Subbing: Katherine Cenaj