How to avoid eating microplastics and chemicals in plastic

Because plastic is used in every stage of the food system, food and food packaging are a substantial source of microplastics. And while some of the particles that end up in food get there from stages of growing, processing and shipping that are invisible to most people, how you buy, cook and store food can end up making a big difference.

What we know — and don’t know — about microplastics

“Microplastic” refers to tiny pieces of plastic that measure less than 5 millimeters. They often flake off of plastic items used in everyday life, especially when those plastics are moved, twisted, torn or otherwise damaged. Heating plastic also makes these particles more likely to dislodge. In addition to the obvious sources like food packaging and other single-use plastic items, microplastics shed freely from synthetic fibers when they go through the laundry, tires as they wear down on the road, and countless other items that you may not even think of as plastic, like a lot of disposable paper products.

Microplastics don’t break down quickly in the environment, and that makes them potentially problematic both for environmental and human health. Scientists have observed microplastics accumulating freely in the bodies of fish, the milk and meat of farm animals and even the human brain.

Limit or avoid takeout food and drinks

Another way to reduce your microplastic load is skipping takeout: Studies have shown that the plastic containers used for takeout can shed a lot of microplastics into hot food. Researchers have identified microplastics in various kinds of food and from multiple kinds of plastic containers, with one to two weekly takeout meals adding up to hundreds of microplastic particles per week. For people who consume a lot of takeout food — like university students who were monitored in a recent study — that adds up quickly, with students who ate the most takeout showing far more microplastics in their stool than others. Concerningly, those with higher microplastic consumption also showed changes to their gut microbiome, with genetic testing revealing higher prevalence of inflammation-causing bacteria and lower prevalence of beneficial bacteria.

While takeout might offer comfort and convenience, eating in a restaurant on actual servingware when you can is a good idea for reducing potential microplastic ingestion, as well as reducing the amount of plastic waste generated by your meal. And if you really can’t avoid ordering takeout, opting for cold or room temperature food rather than something that’s loaded, piping hot, into a plastic container is a good idea. Compostable containers, which are often used for salads and grain bowls, might seem like a healthier alternative to plastic containers, but they are often coated with PFAS, which grant them nonstick and greaseproof properties. Those PFAS can travel from food packaging onto food and into our bodies, where they’re linked to health problems like endocrine disruption and cancer. Paper cups, especially when holding hot liquids, present similar problems, spreading microplastics and potentially even PFAS into the drink. When you can, try to get to-go drinks in reusable metal, ceramic or glass cups.

Choose alternatives to plastic containers

Over the last few decades, all kinds of foods that used to be packaged in glass have shifted to being packaged in plastic. Not only do those containers present the possibility of microplastics shedding, they also carry risks when it comes to chemical leaching: Plastic that has a supple, flexible texture (like the kind used in squeezable ketchup bottles or jars of peanut butter) likely contains plasticizers. Some of those plasticizers, particularly phthalates, are linked to fertility issues, birth defects and behavioral disorders. Phthalates and other plasticizers can easily leach into food, especially dairy products, nut butters and anything fatty or oily. Any packaging with the recycling numbers 3 or 7 is also likely to contain phthalates, so avoid these when possible.

Skip tea bags and coffee pods

Food and beverages in plastic containers might be the clearest things to avoid, but a few less obvious items also present risks. That’s because a lot of plastic doesn’t necessarily look like plastic at a glance. For example, many tea bags are woven out of plastic threads. When these threads have boiling water poured on them, they can release millions to billions of microplastic particles, with one study even showing those particles are readily absorbed by intestinal cells.

If you’re a tea drinker, try to choose brands that specify their bags are made from a nonplastic material like paper or silk. Still, this might not be a foolproof solution: Adhesives and binders used on other materials might still shed some microplastics and nanoplastics into the tea. With that in mind, loose-leaf teas might be your best option.

While less studied than tea bags, single-use coffee pods that contain plastic may pose similar risks due to the rapid heating of plastic under a stream of water. Even as some brands move away from using plastic in their pods, it’s preferable to use other methods of brewing coffee where possible. Hot water traveling through plastic piping is a perfect recipe for degradation and flaking even when the plastic is rated for temperatures above those used in the brewing process, so opt for plastic-free coffeemakers (like a French press or ceramic, glass or metal pour-over cup) when possible, with the caveat that some coffee filters are sealed with plastic-based glue.

Limit or avoid chewing gum

While you might not think of it as food per se, one emerging source of microplastics is chewing gum. Although there are all-natural gums available that still use traditional ingredients like tree resins, most commercially available gum is actually largely made out of plastic, relying on synthetic, petroleum-derived polymers to give the gum that chew. Technically, these gum bases are all “food-grade” and approved by the FDA, but it’s generally not a great idea to put plastic in your mouth intentionally. It’s an even worse idea to chew it aggressively: In a recent preliminary study, researchers found that chewing gum for even a few minutes led to the release of hundreds of microplastic particles.

Concerningly, even those gums using natural polymers as the base released microplastics, indicating that microplastics could also be originating from other steps in processing and packaging gums, too. With most of the particles emerging in the first few minutes of chewing, how much gum you chew — rather than how long you chew an individual piece — seems to be the biggest factor influencing overall exposure. So while further research is needed to validate these results and determine why even nonplastic-based gums are so high in microplastics, cutting down your gum consumption seems wise in the meantime.

How you prepare and serve your food

If the foods you buy are picking up microplastics when they’re processed and packaged, the same kinds of risks apply when you’re cooking and serving food at home. Using plastic equipment at almost any stage of food preparation introduces the possibility of microplastics getting into your food, so choosing plastic-free tools and utensils can help reduce your exposure.

Of course, microplastic exposure isn’t the only risk that comes with cooking tools. For tips on reducing your exposure to PFAS, check out our guide to non-stick alternatives in the kitchen.

Opt for nonplastic cutting boards

Researchers studying different kinds of cutting boards determined that there are several factors that contribute to how many microplastics they shed, like cutting style and the exact kind of plastic the board is made from. But both kinds of boards the researchers tested (polypropylene and polyethylene) were projected to release millions of plastic particles per year, amounting to upwards of 50 grams of ingestible plastic annually. Many of those particles attach to the food that’s cut, with one study showing meat cut on plastic boards held on to microplastics even after a quick wash.

If you use plastic cutting boards now, the good news is that you’re probably used to replacing them pretty frequently anyway, given that they quickly accumulate scratches, grime, stains and odors. And replacing them with a sustainable alternative is pretty simple: glass, metal and wood options all help avoid microplastic contamination, though each comes with drawbacks. Glass and metal can wear down blades quickly, while wooden boards typically need to be handwashed rather than going in the dishwasher. Newer options, like the wooden composite boards you might have seen in an Instagram influencer’s kitchen, may still be bound together with plastic resin, so check the label before buying.

Choose your tools wisely

Then there’s the cooking itself: When you look at the kitchen section of most stores, the cheapest option for spatulas, spoons, ladles and scrapers is usually made from a firm, flexible plastic. Common sense might make you question whether it’s smart for heat-proximate tools to be made out of meltable plastic.

Common sense is correct: Leaving a plastic spatula on a hot surface or a plastic spoon in a pot of simmering soup isn’t a great idea — and anyone who’s used these tools has probably watched them melt or deform if left in contact with heat for a long time. This damage not only makes such tools more likely to shed microplastic particles, it also causes them to leach potentially harmful chemical additives.

Worries over leached chemicals generated big headlines recently with the revelation that the black plastic common in kitchen utensils often comes from recycled electronics. Using recycled materials might sound like a good thing, but recycled plastics typically still contain whatever chemical additives they had in their first life, and in the case of electronic waste, that means flame retardants. In October 2024, researchers with Toxic-Free Future, a group that focuses on reducing chemical pollution, released a study showing that flame retardants were common in household goods. Their finding that utensils in contact with hot food could leach flame retardants at rates approaching the EPA’s maximum “safe daily limit” kicked off a flurry of online discussion about how to ditch plastic utensils and cookware.

But there was a small problem: The original paper had a math error that overstated the potential leaching by a factor of about ten, something chemical-industry representatives seized on to discredit the group’s concerns. Even with the corrected numbers, however, the research still shows that black plastic utensils are leaching flame retardants and other harmful chemicals into your food. And while using a black plastic spatula might not expose you to 80 percent of the EPA’s daily limit on flame retardants, as originally suggested, it’s still exposing you to 8 percent of that limit. As the paper’s authors pointed out in their correction, the safest exposure to flame retardants in cookware is none; when you’re cooking multiple meals a day with the same utensils, those exposures add up quickly.

So what’s the alternative? Where appropriate, wooden utensils are a good option, provided you handwash them and don’t leave them soaking in water for too long. On pans where they won’t damage the finish, stainless steel and other metal utensils are also a safer option.

Then there’s silicone, which is naturally nonstick, flexible, heat resistant and durable — qualities that might leave you wondering whether there’s a catch. Like plastics, silicone is a polymer, meaning it’s made of strings of molecules that have been chained together, giving it those desirable qualities. But unlike plastics, the links in that chain aren’t fossil fuel–derived carbon atoms, they’re silicon, which comes from the silica in sand. Fossil fuels are still used to help construct those chains, but the difference in construction makes silicone a lot more durable and less prone to degradation and leaching.

That risk is heightened when you transfer hot food into plastic containers, as chemicals can be released more readily under high temperatures. Those high temperatures also make plastic itself more likely to melt or otherwise degrade, releasing microplastic particles in the process. That also applies to plastic used to wrap food, with one expert recommending you avoid using plastic wrap until food has cooled.

That same logic applies to reheating food — it’s never wise to reheat food in plastic containers or on plastic or melamine plates, especially if it isn’t specifically marked as microwave safe. Even if it is, however, it’s still best to transfer your food to a glass or ceramic plate, bowl or other container before heating it.

When storing food and beverages in the fridge or at room temperature, steer clear of flimsy, thin or brittle plastic packaging. These materials are more prone to shedding microplastic particles than thicker-walled counterparts. That same logic applies to plastic bags, which can shed microplastics when they are twisted, cut or torn. And while reusing single-use plastic packaging is better for the earth, avoid storing food in any plastic that has obvious signs of wear, like scratches, chips and cloudy spots, all of which indicate degradation.

Exposing even durable plastic to high temperatures in the dishwasher is one way to speed up that degradation, so if you’re trying to get as much life out of containers you already own, hand washing can help prevent them from breaking down early. Like many of the changes you can make to cut back on microplastics, that involves a little more effort, but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff for some peace of mind.