The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI), the regulator of food manufacturing and distribution, is planning to hold consultations with various nodal ministries about the presence of microplastics in food, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.
FSSAI is also exploring viable solutions to the problem, and is also holding close consultations with the Ministry of Environment(MOE), which regulates plastic standards in India, people cited above added.
Health experts who spoke with Moneycontrol have emphasised the need for increased awareness among people regarding the best practices to reduce exposure to such microplastics.
Even innocuous practices like reusing a mineral water bottle or tearing a milk pouch, instead of cutting it with scissors, could enhance the risk of exposure to microplastics.
In August, FSSAI had launched a special initiative to address microplastic contamination of food. “Microplastic exposure risk exists in a wide range of packaged products, like salt, milk, water, etc. While being transported, these packaged items may be exposed to high temperature conditions which enhances the risk even further,” said a person cited above.
“There is a lack of awareness among the public at large regarding the best practices. The awareness campaign will focus on the same. At the same time, there is also a need for safer alternatives in packaging,” he said.
What are microplastics and how they make it into our food
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that usually get transferred from packaging cover into food items.
However, they are so tiny that they are invisible to the naked eyes and we cannot make any distinction even in terms of taste. Normally this happens when a small layer of plastic packing gets eroded, either due to high temperature or pressure, and they get mixed with the food item.
“When the storing of product is not proper or some inside layering is defective, the micro plastics can get ingested. Our body system is not adequate to deal with microplastics. So, they remain in the body and cause endocrine disorders. This has been shown to decrease fertility,” said Dr Ajay Agarwal, senior director, internal medicine, Fortis Hospital, Noida.
The microplastics could also damage internal organs, add experts.
“Microplastic or nanoplastics may get in contact with human organs and damage cells. It may also accumulate in internal organs and may cause cancer-type of diseases,” said Dr Prakash Krishnaiah, polymer scientist and founder, Greenfusion Biosciences.
'Recycling, better regulation and safer alternatives need of the hour'
Reusing disposable grade plastic is a key issue, explains Dr Agarwal.
“We should not try to store water in plastic bottles. Plastic bottles are disposable and should be disposed of. People have the tendency to store water in bottles, once packaged water is consumed. That is wrong, because the protection layer inside the bottle is already destroyed after one use, and micro plastic clusters keep on entering the water we are storing," he said.
Health experts also added that people currently lack the knowledge of how to properly handle plastic.
“There is a need for stricter regulation and public awareness of the health and environmental impact of plastics, including microplastics derived from petroleum-based materials,” said Dr Prakash Krishnaiah, polymer scientist and founder, Greenfusion Biosciences.
“Recycling of petroleum-based plastics made from polypropylene and polyethylene is the only way of handling it properly. Petroleum-based plastic packaging is used in daily life products like milk, salt, sugar, oil packaging, and food packaging, like chips.”
Currently, there are safer alternatives like bioplastics but these materials cost 15-20 percent more than the normal plastic and hence often discourage companies from exploring them, health experts added.
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