Microplastics are everywhere, including on our plates and in our feces, but are they harmful to our health?
The omnipresent plastic is rife in dust, rice, placentas and tap water, but experts say it’s hard to untangle whether it’s harmful to humans
Studies have found microplastics – that is, pieces or fibres smaller than 5mm – in foods including tea, salt, seaweed, milk, seafood, honey, sugar, beer, vegetables and soft drinks. Tap water contains plastic. Bottled water contains even more.
Across our terrestrial and marine environments, microplastics have been found in most places where scientists have looked, including some of the most remote spots on Earth, threatening and, in some cases killing, wildlife.
“Nobody really knows the answer,” says Prof Mark Taylor of Macquarie University in Sydney and an expert on environmental contamination. “But the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”
This week, a study of rice bought from supermarkets and a bulk-food store in Queensland became the latest to deliver a warning.
