Microplastics in mineral water. The French report

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Microplastics are present in 78 percent of the best-selling mineral water in France. This is noted in the Agir pour l’Environnement report. (1)

Microplastics even in mineral water

The organization contracted the Labocéa laboratory to search for microplastics in 9 Pet bottled mineral water bottles.

The result is worrisome. Plastic fragments were detected in 7 out of 9 cases, with a concentration ranging from 1 to 121 microparticles per liter.

The worst result in children’s water

The brands examined were the best-selling brands in France: Badoit, Carrefour, Cristaline, Evian (50 cl and 1 liter), Perrier, Vittel (33 cl and 1 liter), and Volvic.

The most contaminated water was found to be water dedicated to children, Vittel Kids. Analysis revealed the presence of 40 microplastic particles in the 33 cl bottle, or 121 particles per liter.

‘With an average of 131 liters of bottled water consumed per year, it is therefore likely that a child ingests, through this simple use, nearly 16,000 microparticles of plastic each year,’ comments Agir pour l’Environnement.

Four types of plastic

According to activists, the origin of the contamination may lie in factors under the control of producers. That is, in the bottle, in the cap, and in the bottling process. Factors exacerbated by exposure of Pet bottles to light and heat.

In fact, the types of plastics identified in the fragments found are 4:

Pet, polyethylene terephthalate. All bottles sampled for the test are made of this material. Supposedly, to make this plastic soft and colorful, manufacturers add various additives. However, the composition is covered by trade secret,

PE, polyethylene. There are two forms, high and low density (HDPE and LDPE), but the lab in charge could not distinguish between them in the fragments detected. It is a material used to make caps,

PP, polypropylene. It is a polymer widely used for its strength and thermal sealing properties. This is also used to make bottle caps,

PU, polyurethane. It is used in many consumer products and industrial processes as an insulator.

Recycled plastics made from the aforementioned polymers are also known to be more prone to degradation and subsequent migration into food. (2)

We eat one credit card a week

Human exposure to microplastics is well established. Several studies have traced some to the lungs, placenta, and human blood. (3)

‘Every week we ingest 5 grams of plastic, the equivalent of a credit card,’ Agir pour l’Environnement points out, citing estimates from an Australian study.

And he judgesunacceptable to let bottled water manufacturers sell water polluted with microplastics, but presented as supposedly “pure” and also 300 times more expensive than tap water! The state must protect our health and the environment, primarily that of children, by ensuring that the food chain is not polluted by microplastics. We need to get out of disposable plastic as soon as possible, starting with a ban on plastic bottles‘.

The actions needed

Overcoming the plastic era is difficult. With regard to mineral water bottles, however, the solution is at hand. All that is needed to implement it is political will.

Plastic bottles can be easily replaced by the many alternatives that are already available: tap water, water bottles, drinking fountains, returnable glass, to move away from the all-disposable logic with a virtuous circular economy in the face of environmental challenges.’

Notes

(1) Agir pour l’environnement,
Étude exclusive : 78% des eaux en bouteille analysées contaminées par des microplastiques
. 20.7.22

(2) Marta Strinati.
Recycled PET, more chemicals migrate from bottles to beverages.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 3/21/22

(3) V.

Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Microplastics even in our lungs. The British study. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 12.4.22

Marta Strinati. Microplastics in the human placenta. The discovery of Italian researchers. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 11.12.20

Marta Strinati.
Microplastics in blood, first evidence in humans.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 25.3.22

Marta Strinati
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Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".