INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA — Researchers from South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia have found that 90 percent of table salt sold around the world are contaminated with microplastics. <br /> <br />After analyzing salt from 21 countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa, a new study found microplastics in 36 out of 39 brands, reports National Geographic. <br /> <br />Microplastic density was highest among Asian brands, especially those from Indonesia. The only three salts free from plastic were those from Taiwan, China, and France. <br /> <br />Researchers sampled three types of salts and found that sea salt had the highest microplastic levels, followed by lake salt, and then rock salt. <br /> <br />With particles often less than 5 millimeters in size and many the same color as salt, and they are barely noticeable. <br /> <br />The study estimates that the average adult consumes 2,000 microplastics a year through salt. <br /> <br />Scientists have yet to determine how harmful microplastics are to our bodies, but so far, experiments on mice haven't exactly brought good news.
