Which foods have the most plastics? CNN says ninety percent of animal and vegetable protein samples tested in research published in February tested positive for microplastics. Other studies said vegetables can absorb microplastics through their root systems, and salt and sugar can also contain plastic. Here's the full story, including some advice on reducing your exposure. Tell us: Which of these proteins do you think contains the most plastic?
Most voters in this poll thought fish sticks had the most plastic of any of the four proteins listed, but the right answer was breaded shrimp. "Breaded shrimp contained the most tiny plastics by far, at well over an average of 300 microplastic pieces per serving," CNN writes. "Plant-based nuggets came in second, at under 100 pieces per serving, followed by chicken nuggets, pollock fish sticks, minimally processed White Gulf shrimp, fresh caught Key West pink shrimp and a plant-based fish-like stick.The least contaminated proteins were chicken breasts, followed by pork loin chops and tofu."
@CultureDesk
aHAH! So I was right 😊
I like that you actually let us engage, and even react to responses. That's how you create an appreciative public.
Thanks for the link to the publication.
@CultureDesk Popcorn skins are a form of plastic. Shrimp shells are a form of plastic. I would hope that these tests are taking natural plastics into account. It's going to be decades before we know which plastics are harmful. Is PLA as harmful as PVC? Probably not, but we won't know without a lot more data.
@CultureDesk
> For shell-on shrimp samples, the shell did not break down during the KOH procedure so it was rinsed into the sample beaker using RO water and then discarded.
This makes me suspect that the shrimp numbers may not be accurate and that they're counting bits of shell as microplastics (which they arguably are and which we've always been exposed to). However, shrimp are bottom feeders and consume a large amount of microplastics...
@blterrible. Yes, they appear to be visually identifying the microplastics using a microscope too. We're going down a really interesting rabbit hole here!
Add comment