It feels like science is just beginning to understand the ubiquity of microplastics in our environment, from the water we drink to the food we eat. A number of studies have now found high concentrations in various human body parts, including the testicles and the brain. Naturally, consumers are concerned about where it’s all coming from, and researchers are starting to hone in on a number of culprits.
New research from the University of Binghamton in the U.K. first reported by The Independent tested 155 drinks, including sodas, juices, energy drinks, and both hot and cold coffee and tea, to find which beverages are the biggest contributors to microplastics in our bodies. And it found some concerning results about hot drinks in particular.
Hot Coffee and Tea Had the Most Microplastics
The research team found that hot tea and hot coffee had, on average, far more microplastics than their chilled counterparts. Tea stood out the most, with expensive varieties served in disposable cups containing the most microplastics. The findings, the team said, “strongly suggest that the disposable cup material is a primary source of [microplastics] in our hot coffee samples.”
Here’s a full rundown of what they found:
- Hot tea: 49 to 81 MPs per liter
- Hot coffee: 29 to 57 MPs per liter
- Iced tea: 24 to 38 MPs per liter
- Iced coffee: 31 to 43 MPs per liter
- Fruit juice: 19 to 41 MPs per liter
- Energy drinks: 14 to 36 MPs per liter
- Soft drinks: 13 to 21 MPs per liter
Study Authors Speak Out
The biggest takeaway, the study said, is proving “for the first time that assessment of exposure via drinking water only may substantially underestimate the risk” of microplastics exposure.
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One of the paper’s lead authors, University of Birmingham Professor Mohamed Abdallah, explained that the research found far wider contamination than they expected.
“We noted that a lot of research in the microplastics sphere is focusing on drinking water – tap water, bottled water – and we’ve also released a paper from the UK on water. But we realised that people don’t only drink water during their day. You drink tea, coffee, juices,” he said.
“We found a ubiquitous presence of microplastics in all the cold and hot drinks we looked at. Which is pretty alarming, and from a scientific point of view suggests we should not only be looking at water, we should be more comprehensive in our research because other sources are substantial.”
