Health

Brewing Concern: Billions Of Microplastics May Be In Your Tea, Scientists Warn

A recent study reveals that with every cup of tea, you could be drinking more than a billion micro and nanoplastics. Read on to see the biggest source of those plastics.

What’s Brewing In Your Tea? Microplastics

Your warm, soothing cup of tea may be carrying a whole lot more than flavor. Scientists say you may be drinking an astonishing amount of microplastics with each cup you brew.

A recent review of nearly 20 studies in the journal Food Chemistry found that teabags are the biggest culprit when it comes to microplastics and nanoplastics in tea-based drinks.

And if you think you’re exempt because you don’t drink hot tea, the research has also found microplastics in iced tea and bubble tea.

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Researchers found that when teabags are steeped in boiling water, the microplastics are released. In some experiments, more than 1 billion particles were released per teabag. One study even found more than 14 billion miniscule particles released from a single, plastic teabag.

Un sachet de thé dans une tasse d'eau chaud pour un moment de détente. Le sachet de thé imbibé laisse échappée les effluves agréables. — (Getty Images)

While your tea bag may look as if it's made from paper only, a plastic polymer is sometimes used to keep the bag sealed. Some tea bags use plastic mesh or a mix of plant-based and plastic fibers. Even biodegradable or compostable tea bags may not be free of plastic.

The plastics can also get into tea from packaging like bottles, cups and caps and even contaminated production water and tea leaves.

The researchers noted that the amount of microplastics found after steeping varied widely, because finding and identifying these microscopic plastics can be challenging. The methods used across the studies also varied widely.

After water, tea is the most popular drink around the world, with black tea being the type most consumed. The United Nations even celebrates International Tea Day.

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The big question that is still unanswered is how these microplastics might actually impact your health. This review stayed cautious, explaining that while the risks are unclear, there’s cause for concern because of the bio-persistance of microplastics — they don’t break down — noting the potential for cellular interactions in the body.

So what can you do? Well the researchers on this project recommended pre-rinsing bags to try to reduce some of your exposure. But on the larger scale they urged producers and governments to minimize or eliminate plastic tea bags.