Microparticles and microplastics contamination in African table salts

Abstract

The presence of micro/plastic particles has been reported in various seafood products. However, information on microplastics contamination in salts from African continent is very limited. This study analysed 23 brands of table salts from 8 African countries for microplastics using microscopic/spectroscopic techniques. South Africa showed the highest microplastics concentration (0–1.33 ± 0.32 particles/kg), Nigeria, Cameroun, and Ghana (0–0.33 ± 0.38 particles/kg each); characterized as polyvinyl acetate, polypropylene, and polyethylene. Other countries have no detectable microplastics at 0.3 μm filter pore size. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to characterize micro-fibres/plastics in table salts across African countries, confirming that it is an emission source of micro-fibres/plastics into the human food chain, highlighting the overarching need to understand their effects on human health.