Sea salt might be adding tiny plastic bits to fish that's been salt-cured, because the kinds of plastics in the salt match what we find in the fish.

8

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

8

Community contributions welcome

8

Microplastic contamination in salt-cured fish and commercial sea salts: an emerging food safety threat in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Cross-Sectional Study

Animal

2024 May

The study found similar types and amounts of tiny plastics in both sea salt and salt-cured fish, suggesting the salt might be a source of plastic in the fish. This supports the idea that using polluted salt could add plastic to our food.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Microplastic contamination in salt-cured fish and commercial sea salts: an emerging food safety threat in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Score: 8

DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33215-y

Similar Assertions

Fish cured with salt and sea salt from India's east coast have a lot of tiny plastic bits in them—some types of plastic like PVC and polystyrene—and that could be a problem for our health and the environment.

8

0

86%

Sea salt made the old-fashioned way might have less plastic pollution in it than salt made in big factories — how it's made could affect how much microplastic ends up in it.

39

0

81%

Some of the tiny plastic bits in sea salt might come from how it's made and handled after harvesting, not just from polluted ocean water.

39

0

80%

Sea salt from clean oceans probably has fewer heavy metals than rock salt, and if cleaned right, it has almost no tiny plastic bits in it.

0

39

80%

The tiny plastic bits in salted fish and sea salt from India's east coast are mostly from broken-down plastic trash in the ocean, and they’re usually smaller than a grain of sand.

8

0

75%