Plastic residues in sea salt obtained from the Lebanese market

Abstract

Salt is one of the most used food additives not only to improve taste, but also for preservation and different functional properties. In recent years, there is a notable growing body of evidence demonstrating that salt is contaminated by extraneous substances such as microplastics. Many substances with adverse health effect such as heavy metal and endocrine disruptors can adhere to microplastics or enter as inherent part of the plastic end product. Plastics end up in body of water such as oceans and seas. This is the case in Lebanon where very little portion of plastics are recycled and the rest is thrown in dump sides near the Mediterranean Sea. Within this scope, few studies have been conducted to assess the contamination of salts with microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea. To the best of our knowledge no similar study has been conducted in Lebanon. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the presence of microplastics in sea salt either sold or produced in Lebanon. To meet this objective, twenty-seven salt brands from the Lebanese market were collected and analyzed between September 2019 and December 2020. Determination of the presence of different types of plastic polymers was performed using Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) techniques with three replicates for each sample. This study showed seven types of microplastic polymers including polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomer, gomma plastificata, polyester, polyethylene, plasticizer and BBP 12-4. Accordingly, this study highlights the presence of microplastics and their implications of the human health.