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PE bottles release a lot of microplastics

Industry News > PE bottles release a lot of microplastics

"Microplastics" is a new concept that has only been proposed in recent years. It refers to plastic fragments and particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm. In fact, the particle size of microplastics ranges from a few microns to a few millimeters, which is a mixture of heterogeneous plastic particles with various shapes. The body is often difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. Its sources are very wide, including various plastic products. However, these plastic products may release a large amount of microplastics during use, especially plastic products for food use, and the microplastics produced may pass through Food enters the human body, thereby causing health hazards.

Plastics are more and more commonly used in various daily necessities, electrical equipment, etc. It is worth noting that because plastic products are difficult to biodegrade, they will decompose into tiny particles and flow into the ocean and soil during use. , Even into the food chain. Compared with "white pollution" plastics, the harm of microplastics is reflected in their small particle diameters, which is the reason why they are more harmful to the environment than ordinary non-degradable plastics.

Springer Nature’s professional academic journal "Nature Food" recently published a health research paper that reminded that when using polypropylene-containing baby bottles to prepare standard formula milk, the bottles may release plastic particle. The results of this study emphasize the need to further study the impact of plastic particles on human health, because people's understanding of this is still insufficient.

PE奶瓶释放大量微塑料，婴儿平均每天或喝下160万颗

Baby bottles are no longer safe?

Since the 1950s, the average annual growth rate of global plastics has remained at 8.5%. By 2016, global plastic production reached 335 million tons. my country is a big country in the production and use of plastics in the world, and the potential for further growth is huge. However, after plastics are used, some of them enter the ocean due to untimely collection and processing, causing serious environmental pollution. According to the United Nations, there are more than 800 per year. Ten thousand tons of plastic flows into the ocean.

PE奶瓶释放大量微塑料，婴儿平均每天或喝下160万颗

More and more evidence shows that in the process of chemical and physical degradation of large plastic products, micro- and nano-level plastic particles will be released, which will eventually flow into our food and water sources. Some studies have shown that micro- and nano-scale plastics may be transferred from the ocean to humans through the food chain, but people know very little about the microplastics directly released from plastic products in daily use.

Up to now, polypropylene has become one of the most commonly used plastics in the world for making relevant utensils for food preparation and storage. It is commonly used in daily necessities such as food containers, water bottles and baby bottles (IFBs). In contrast, polyethylene, Another popular plastic container is a fiber that is often used as a carpet that requires strong durability. Although pp and pe are widely used, little is known about the amount of microplastics released by this type of container, and this issue has only now attracted attention.

The higher the water temperature, the more microplastics the bottle releases

By chance, researchers from Trinity College Dublin began to study the amount of microplastics produced by plastic products during use, especially polypropylene bottles used by babies.

According to the researchers, at that time, a colleague was making instant noodles in a plastic container. Before adding hot water, the plastic container was very hard, but when he added hot water into it, the container began to become more flexible and soft. So they wondered how many plastic particles would be released in the process.

They did a quick test in the laboratory and found that every liter of hot water would release more than 1 million plastic particles from plastic containers. Then, they started testing other polypropylene containers, such as plastic bottles, but the room temperature water added this time only released a small amount of plastic particles. So researchers guessed that temperature seems to be the key.

Therefore, polypropylene baby bottles used by babies have become the focus of their attention.

Through a survey of 48 regions that account for 78% of the world’s population, researchers found that polypropylene baby bottles accounted for 83% of the global market. The researchers decided to select 10 representative milk bottles, which accounted for 68.8% of the global baby bottle market, as the research objects in accordance with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization for infusing formula milk at home in 2007. A solution to quantify the polypropylene microplastic particles released from baby bottles.

Through the test of the whole process of brewing milk powder (including washing, disinfecting, and brewing), it was found that adding 1 liter of water at 70°C to a polypropylene milk bottle can release up to 16 million microplastic particles. When the water temperature was increased from 70°C to 95°C (the temperature of the water just boiling), the amount of microplastics released increased from 6 million to 55 million per liter.

In order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results, during the testing process, the researchers strictly abide by the procedures of the World Health Organization, use controlled experiments, repeat the test with different liquids and different temperatures, and use statistical analysis to determine whether the results are significant . The researchers even sent their methods and samples to an independent laboratory for verification and got similar results.

There is an obvious trend in this process: the higher the temperature of the liquid in the bottle, the more microplastics are released.

PE奶瓶释放大量微塑料，婴儿平均每天或喝下160万颗

By comparing the average release rate of microplastics in baby bottles, the market share of plastic bottles, the rate of bottle feeding, and how much milk babies drink each day, the researchers estimated the possible contamination levels of 12-month-old babies in 48 regions of the world. It is concluded that babies may consume an average of 1.6 million polypropylene plastic particles and trillions of smaller nano-sized plastic particles every day.

The study found that the release of microplastic particles in other polypropylene plastic utensils such as kettles and lunch boxes is similar to the release of microplastics in polypropylene baby bottles.

Babies are exposed to millions of microplastics every day

In view of the widespread use of polypropylene baby bottles and the number of microplastic particles released during daily use, the research team realized that the possibility of infant exposure to microplastics has become a global issue.

Researchers comprehensively used the release rate of microplastic particles from polypropylene baby bottles, the market share of each polypropylene baby bottle, the daily milk intake and breastfeeding rate of infants, and estimated exposure of 12-month-old infants in 48 countries and regions The case of microplastics.

PE奶瓶释放大量微塑料，婴儿平均每天或喝下160万颗

Global market share of polypropylene baby bottles

The study found that according to the current standards for sterilization of baby bottles and milk powder preparation, if babies are fed with polypropylene bottles during the first 12 months of life, the overall average daily consumption of polypropylene microplastic particles per capita Up to 1.58 million capsules.

They also found that different regions have different exposure patterns: African and Asian babies have the lowest potential exposure, while those in Oceania, North America, and Europe have the highest potential exposure, equivalent to 2.1 million, 2.28 million and 2.61 million per day respectively A particle.

How to reduce baby's intake of microplastics?

In view of the preference of parents all over the world for polypropylene baby bottles, it is particularly important to reduce accidental microplastics and nanoplastics in infant formula milk powder. Based on the results of this research, the researchers designed and tested a series of recommendations for formulating infant formula, which will help minimize the production of microplastics.

PE奶瓶释放大量微塑料，婴儿平均每天或喝下160万颗

Researchers have found that by modifying the sterilization and formulating procedures of milk bottles, the release of microplastics in polypropylene baby bottles can be significantly reduced. The fastest and easiest four steps are:
1. Wash the sterilized baby bottle with cold sterile water.

2. Formula milk powder must be stored in non-plastic containers.

3. After the formula has cooled to room temperature, put it in a cold sterilized milk bottle.

4. Avoid reheating the prepared formula in plastic containers, especially in microwave ovens.

To deal with unknown risks, technical solutions are urgently needed

In addition, the researchers also pointed out that considering that the food preparation and food storage dishes that people use daily are generally plastic products, and the study also conducted research on household appliances such as kettles and lunch boxes, they found that every polypropylene product released Similar levels of microplastic particles. Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a technical solution to this problem.

Professor John Boland, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, said: “When we see these results in the laboratory, we immediately realize the potential impact they may have. The last thing we want to do is to over-warn our parents, especially in our There is not enough information to explain the potential consequences of microplastics on the health of babies."

“However, with regard to the use of plastic baby bottles, we call on policymakers to re-evaluate the current formula formulating guidelines. Crucially, we found that by changing the practices related to sterilization and formula formulating processes, intake can be reduced. The risks of microplastics.” Professor John Boland added.

The researchers pointed out that we must accept the fact that plastics are ubiquitous in modern life. They release microplastics and nanoplastics in daily use. Although we do not yet know the hazards of these tiny plastic particles to human health, we can take some actions, study some technical solutions and related strategies to reduce the release of microplastics.

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PE bottles release a lot of microplastics

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