Summary
A new study from Spain’s Autonomous University of Barcelona reveals that tea bags made from nylon, polypropylene, and cellulose release billions of micro- and nanoplastic particles when steeped in boiling water.
These particles, which can enter human intestinal cells, may pose health risks, potentially affecting the digestive, respiratory, endocrine, and immune systems.
Researchers urge regulatory action to mitigate plastic contamination in food packaging.
Consumers are advised to use loose-leaf tea with stainless steel infusers or biodegradable tea bags to minimize exposure.
Has anyone checked how much particles I produce when I wash my fleece jacket.
This warning only applies to the pyramid tea bags and not the paper sachet.
It did list a cellulose bags as one source, however I don’t quite understand how. Additive to strengthen the material?
Plastic coating to make the bag more resistant to heat.
Oh my god. I think I’ll just go back to my teapot.
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.
Good to know, thanks for sharing that article!
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.
cigarettes
Speaking of, cigarette butts / discarded filters are a major source of microplastic pollution.
How dare you comment. You just released microplastics! Wait, so am I!!!
Smell that sheepskin condom?
You just inhaled plastics.
My tinfoil hat theory is that we’re going to find out that toothbrushes are a major source of them
Oh they are.
Vegans hate this one trick to avoid microplastics from toothbrushes; horsehair toothbrush.
Also, you guys rinse your mouths, right?
I wonder if I am. Do I have enough in me that I’m emitting them?
Yes.
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics_and_human_health
The potential health impacts of microplastics vary based on factors, such as their particle sizes, shape, exposure time, chemical composition (enriched with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc.), surface properties, and associated contaminants.[76][77]
Experimental and observational studies in mammals have shown that microplastics and nanoplastics exposure have the following adverse effects:
On the cellular level
Inflammation[78][79] Oxidative stress[80][78][81][82][77] Genotoxicity[83][82] Cytotoxicity[81][77]By systems
Cardiovascular[84][62] Respiratory[59] Inflammation in the lungs from inhalation[75] Disruption of hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA), including the Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid, Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, Hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular and Hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis[85] Reproductive toxicity,[85] decreased reproductive health, decreased sperm quality[85] Developmental abnormalities[85] Immunotoxicity[85][86][81][79] Endocrine disruption[85][87] Neurotoxicity[85] Metabolic disturbances[78] Disrupted gut-liver axis resulting in increased risk of insulin resistance[88] disrupted hormone function, potentially contributing to weight gain.[89][90]Epidemiological studies
Despite growing concern and evidence, most epidemiologic studies have focused on characterizing exposures. Epidemiological studies directly linking microplastics to adverse health effects in humans remain yet limited and research is ongoing to determine the full extent of potential harm caused by microplastics and their long-term impact on human health.[91][92]
There is plenty of reason to consider microplastics a major adverse health factor. The problem is that it is a relatively new field of research and making an epidemiological assessment is difficult as we are exposed to thousands of harmful substances, so knowing which effect comes from what is not a trivial thing to figure out.
We tried that approach with leaded gasoline and paint, asbestos building materials, cigarettes, and a variety of other things over the past several generations. They didn’t kill the entire world population, but things didn’t turn out so well for the people who waited for definitive studies. Good luck with your gamble.
There’s no gamble though. Microplastics are unavoidable. I guarantee that you and every other poster here are filled with them.
OMG. That’s a good way to start the new year. Now my daily tea is going to be filled with guilt and worry.
You can switch to loose leaf. I thought loose leaf sucked because the tea bits always got in it. Then I found a metal filter that has like, 180nm holes in it. Extremely fine mesh.
I use it more than paper tea bags now!
Get a tea infuser. Loose tea tends to be 100x better quality anyway.
Just buy paper tea bags or loose leaf tea. The article is talking about those stupid nylon “pyramid” tea bags.
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!
Your tea bag…
No, it’s not, because I use something other than tea bags.
That’s you. That’s what you wrote.
Lol
Thank you for looking at what I wrote and seeing humour rather than malice.
I wish stainless steel strainers weren’t dogshit for rooibos :(
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.
I did the same with mine – prepared for the worst, but pleasantly surprised:
WHAT IS THE FILTER PAPER MADE OF THAT YOU USE IN YOUR TEA BAGS?
The filter paper used for Yamamotoyama tea bags is made from 100% cellulose fibers (wood). Test results conclude that chlorine dioxide is not present in our tea bag filter paper. The filter paper is not coated with the compound epichlorohydrin, and does not contain any free epichlorohydrin. Yamamotoyama tea bag filter paper is machine folded and pressed, therefore no glue is needed or used. Our teabags are completely compostable.
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.
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
Looks like the risk comes from boiling tea bags made of these materials. Cold steep chads keep winning
You’re a monster. I just wanted you to know that.
These “materials” included cellulose, which is just plant fiber.
Are we really going to start calling plant fibers “bioplastics” now in an effort to scare people?
Stand down brother, you’re up against a cold steep chad
My arms just grew cold steep bumps!
Cold steeping tea is exactly why we can’t have nice things.
Polymerized cellulose is by definition a biobased polymer, this isn’t anything new. The study doesn’t make any claims that polymerized cellulose is harmful. Calling them “plant fibers” is incorrect as they aren’t derived directly from a plant, like say, cotton. These are manufactured using cellulose.
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So… Psychopaths?
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
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