Determination of microplastic in some foods

Microplastics (MP) are environmental pollutants that are considered as priority pollutants. Nowadays, the possibility that such a pollutant is found in foods consumed too much is worrying. The main purpose of this study is to determine the microplastic pollution of different brands of salt, sugar and tea bags sold in markets in our country. For this purpose, samples of 5 different brands of salt, 5 brands of sugar and 15 brands of tea from the markets were examined. Primarily, samples treated with pre-separation processes such as filtration, oxidation of organics, flotation were examined under a light microscope. At the end of the investigations, they were counted and categorized according to their colors, shapes and sizes. Then, ATR-FT-IR analyzes were performed to determine the polymer type of the microplastics. In the results of working; salt and sugar samples were mostly found in navy blue tones. According to FTIR results, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and polyamide type polymers are the majority in salt and sugar samples. Product production technologies and consumption preferences also play a decisive role in the type and amount of waste likely to occur in the environment. When we look at the department of bulk and teabags in the markets, it is seen that teabags take up more space than the bulk teas. This is an indication that our people also consume tea bags. In this study, sachet tea tissue was analyzed by FT-IR. Although non-woven fabrics of predominantly cellulose structure are used, it has been found that certain plastic polymers are used as support materials in these materials. Keywords; Microplastic; pollution; food; synthetic microfibre; tea; sugar; salt