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Your tea bag is likely releasing billions of microplastic particles, according to a new study
(www.foodandwine.com)
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this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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One thing to note with all these articles; so far, there are no major comprehensive studies that definitively show microplastics are a danger to the body, or show what levels are considered acceptable or not.
Considering the entire world population hasn't just collectively died in the last 50 years, I'm leaning towards the effects of microplastics being negligible, or at least a hell of a lot less dangerous than other established risks like processed meat or direct sunlight.
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What isn't releasing billions of microplastic particles? We're fucked.
When someone is getting laid and he drops a load in her, he’s probably injecting microplastics.
Just a thought for next time you are in bed with someone.
And if you don't- the condom? Also releasing microplastics. That glass of water you have afterwards because you're all hot and sweaty and thirsty? Also full of microplastics.
As long as you're using latex/nitrile condoms you should be good as latex and nitrile aren't plastics. Some of the alternatives for people with latex allergies can have plastic in them though.
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gg plastic won
"This stuff is awesome! We can make it into any shape we want, it's cheap, and amazingly durable! MAKE ALL THE THINGS PLASTIC!"
We never stood a chance.
When we had no clue, I mean yeah, sucks, but live and learn. But the fact that all of this evidence has emerged and not much has changed is what's enraging.
The manufacturers had a clue long before we did. Just like leaded gasoline. And fossil fuels in general. And cigarettes. And so on. Nothing changes until governments step in, which sends the "captains of industry" into tantrums like the spoiled pissbabies they are.
That is even more enraging.
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Smell that sheepskin condom?
You just inhaled plastics.
How dare you comment. You just released microplastics! Wait, so am I!!!
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My tinfoil hat theory is that we're going to find out that toothbrushes are a major source of them
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I wonder if I am. Do I have enough in me that I'm emitting them?
Yes.
Consumers are advised to ...
Consumers are advised to check whether tea bags in their region are even made of these materials.
Edit: Also, "billions"? The cookie warning is borked on the foodandwine.com article so I can't read it but: https://www.dpa-international.com/trends-and-features/urn:newsml:dpa.com:20090101:250109-99-540705/ "Tea bags releasing 'millions' of microplastics into tea, study shows" - where does that difference come from?
From the article:
To come to this conclusion, the team tested tea bags made from nylon-6, polypropylene, and cellulose, all typical packaging for teas. They found that when brewing tea, "polypropylene releases approximately 1.2 billion particles per milliliter, with an average size of 136.7 nanometres; cellulose releases about 135 million particles per milliliter, with an average size of 244 nanometres; while nylon-6 releases 8.18 million particles per milliliter, with an average size of 138.4 nanometres."
Cellulose is just plant fiber. You're literally boiling tea leaves which are themselves made of plant fiber! This is silly.
This is not silly; the study is not to determine if these are harmful or not, just what's released from boiling a teabag.
I'm not knowledgeable in this area of research nor am I about to spend an hour going over the paper to write this comment, but collecting data on seemingly mundane things is important too.
It's likely that the cellulose is treated or coated with something that breaks down during steeping.
I wanted to look this up with my brand of tea, and they do line their cellulose bags with plastic.
From https://tetley.ca/pages/faq
100% of our portfolio is in paper tissue format. Currently the majority of our tea bags are made from natural plant fibres with a thin inner layer of a plastic material called PP which enables the bags to be heat sealed to keep the tea firmly in the bag (0.03 g per bag). Recently, we transitioned our Orange Pekoe range to plant-based tea bags which are made with PLA tissue. PLA is a bioplastic derived from plant sources. Using plant-based tea bags across all our products is an important part of our sustainability strategy and commitment to reduce the use of non-renewable plastics in our business.
Ugh. I stayed far away from those David's Tea completely plastic bags but was really hoping that cellulose bags would be fine. Turns our they just have to put plastic in everything. I don't want plastic anywhere near hot water that I'm consuming.
Heh PLA. While it is made from starch it's also not (really) biodegradable, it just is in a very controlled environment.
And PLA still is plastic.
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A lot of paper food storage products are coated with pfas. I'm not sure if tea bags are but it's a possibility.
Seems more specifically it comes down to the brand rather than the region, though the article linked to by this one appears to be from 2021, so there’s a possibility things have changed
No it's not, because I use a stainless steel capsule and loose leaf tea, which is superior in every way (even if microplastics weren't an issue).
If you don't make your tea like this, do yourself a favor and upgrade to some quality loose leaf!
Edit: lol, I love that this is getting downvotes. Are there disposable teabag enthusiasts out there?
I wish stainless steel infusers weren't dogshit for rooibos :(
I've found the laser cut ones with super tiny holes are better than the regular mesh. There's also micromesh but it's more delicate.
There are also cloth options that might be better.
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OMG. That's a good way to start the new year. Now my daily tea is going to be filled with guilt and worry.
Just buy paper tea bags or loose leaf tea. The article is talking about those stupid nylon “pyramid” tea bags.
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This is why I simply tear open the tea bags and dump them into a fine mesh stainless steel basket and set it in the cup.
I have yet to find loose leaf tea tasty enough to repeat buy but I do have 3-4 flavors of bagged tea I always keep stocked.
The biggest downside to doing my favorite bagged teas this way is it’s a pain to clean out the metal basket when I just want another cup the next day, but to me the trade off on sidestepping the microplastic issue is worthwhile