{"id":654,"date":"2025-08-07T17:13:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/?post_type=news&#038;p=654"},"modified":"2025-08-04T17:14:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T15:14:05","slug":"glass-plastic-cans-which-drinks-are-most-contaminated-by-microplastics","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/news\/verre-plastique-canette-quelles-boissons-sont-les-plus-contaminees-par-les-microplastiques\/","title":{"rendered":"Glass, plastic, cans: which drinks are most contaminated by microplastics?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Beverages packaged in glass bottles contain, on average, more microplastics than those in plastic, cans or cartons. This is one of the unexpected results of a study conducted in 2023 by ANSES and published in 2025 in the <em>Journal of Food Composition and Analysis<\/em>. Short summary of the study.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, glass is not the safest container when it comes to contamination by microplastics (MPs). The study shows that :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beers (82.9 \u00b1 13.9 MPs\/L), colas (31.4 \u00b1 16 MPs\/L), iced teas (28.5 \u00b1 13.1 MPs\/L) and lemonades (45.2 \u00b1 21.4 MPs\/L) were the most popular. <strong>glass bottles<\/strong> are the most contaminated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bottled water<\/strong> has a much lower level of contamination (2.9 \u00b1 0.7 MPs\/L on average), but here again, <strong>glass bottles (4.5 MPs\/L)<\/strong> are more contaminated than plastics (1.6 MPs\/L).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wine is an exception<\/strong> The highest levels of contamination were found in the <strong>bricks<\/strong> (30.0 \u00b1 16.9 MPs\/L), not in glass (5.3 MPs\/L).<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The authors note: \u00abAll the types of beverage analysed were contaminated, but at very different levels depending on the type of container\u00bb.\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>One source identified: the painting of metal caps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is glass more contaminated? The experimental investigation carried out by the team shows that the main source is not the glass itself, but <strong>external painting of metal capsules<\/strong> (screw caps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Microplastics found in glass beverages are often made from <strong>same colour as the capsules<\/strong>. Analysis by infrared spectroscopy (\u00b5FT-IR) confirmed that it was <strong>polyesters<\/strong> or <strong>alkyd lacquers<\/strong>, identical to the composition of capsule paints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Laboratory tests have shown that :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A cap that is not cleaned before screwing on releases an average of 287 MPs\/L into a bottle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After blowing (air): 105 MPs\/L.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After blowing + rinsing with water\/ethanol: 86 MPs\/L.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, <strong>capsule cleaning greatly reduces contamination<\/strong>, but does not eliminate it completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What size microplastics? Which material?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The study characterised the PMs according to their shape, size and nature:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shapes<\/strong> 90 to 97 % of the microplastics detected were fragments, the rest being fibres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sizes<\/strong> between 30 and 500 \u00b5m, mainly in the 50-100 \u00b5m and 100-500 \u00b5m classes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Polymers<\/strong> the most common are <strong>polyesters<\/strong> (PET, alkyd resins), followed by <strong>polyolefins<\/strong> (PE, PP), polymethacrylates and polystyrenes.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Microplastics are present <strong>even in non-carbonated drinks<\/strong>, and <strong>no brand or origin of drink (spring water vs. mineral water) is completely unaffected<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A first in France, a challenge for the industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the first study to document the presence of microplastics in common drinks sold in France, taking into account the effect of <strong>types of packaging<\/strong>. She underlines :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The absence of European regulations on microplastics in <strong>beverages other than drinking water<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The urgent need for better control of <strong>quality of sealing materials<\/strong>, in particular <strong>painted metal capsules<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As the article sums up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u00abThese results show that simple actions, such as cleaning the capsules before screwing them on, can significantly limit contamination\u00bb.\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the key messages for the food and drinks industry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This study invites us to rethink certain industrial reflexes. Among the implications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Glass is not synonymous with purity<\/strong> The risks associated with screw caps need to be reassessed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The choice of materials and decorative inks<\/strong> is becoming strategic from a clean label and health safety perspective.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Analysis of the production chain<\/strong> (capsules, bottling, storage) must be reinforced to prevent any contamination.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion: an invisible but very real challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The French study, which is both rigorous and pioneering, warns without alarming: microplastics are ubiquitous, and their origin is sometimes counter-intuitive. As long as the toxicological impact remains uncertain, <strong>reduction at source is the best precautionary strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cha\u00efb I., Doyen P., Merveillie P., Dehaut A., Duflos G. (2025). <em>Microplastic contaminations in a set of beverages sold in France<\/em>. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 144, 107719.<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jfca.2025.107719\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jfca.2025.107719<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-654","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}