A brand-new study exposes that cutting boards made of wood or plastic may generate millions of microparticles a year when utilized for cooking, with wooden boards shedding more microparticles than plastic ones.
Cutting boards are useful tools commonly seen in the bulk of homes and dining establishment kitchen areas. Yet, according to a research study released in ACS Environmental Science & & Technology, these boards are a neglected source of microparticles. The study discovered that chopping carrots on wooden and plastic boards might potentially produce tens of countless microparticles every year. Despite this, a toxicity test suggested that microparticles from polyethylene or wood, launched throughout the chopping procedure, did not considerably impact the survival of mouse cells.
Cutting boards are frequently constructed from products such as rubber, plastic, bamboo, or wood. With continued use in the kitchen area for food preparation tasks like mincing, slicing, and chopping, these tools gradually reveal grooves and slash marks. In recent times, research study has actually exposed that certain plastic materials utilized for boards, including polypropylene and polyethylene, can shed nano- and micro-sized flecks when cut with knives.
Those studies didnt examine how numerous of these microplastics could be produced during reasonable food preparation scenarios. Since the particles might have unfavorable health impacts if ingested, this would be an essential piece of info. Syeed Md Iskander and associates desired to examine the microparticles that would be launched when slicing vegetables on plastic and wood boards, as well as any potential toxicity from these tiny materials.
The scientists collected and measured the micro-sized particles launched from cutting boards, which were repeatedly struck by a knife. In their tests, they compared 5 individualss slicing patterns and a single persons slicing on various products with and without carrots.
From the outcomes, the group computed that food preparation could produce 14 to 71 million polyethylene microplastics and 79 million polypropylene microplastics from their particular boards each year. The estimates might differ, depending on:
An individuals slicing style.
The board product.
The force required to cut through foods.
Whether ingredients are approximately or carefully chopped.
And how typically a cutting board is utilized.
The research study discovered that chopping carrots on wooden and plastic boards might possibly generate 10s of millions of microparticles yearly. Cutting boards are commonly constructed from materials such as rubber, bamboo, wood, or plastic. In current times, research has exposed that particular plastic materials used for boards, including polypropylene and polyethylene, can shed nano- and micro-sized flecks when cut with knives.
Syeed Md Iskander and coworkers desired to investigate the microparticles that would be launched when slicing veggies on plastic and wood boards, as well as any possible toxicity from these small materials.
Annual quotes were not identified for wood boards, though the researchers reported that these products sloughed off 4 to 22 times more microparticles than plastic ones in various tests.
However although lots of microparticles formed, the scientists found that polyethylene microplastics and wood microparticles launched when chopping carrots didnt appear to substantially alter mouse cells practicality in lab tests. While plastic cutting boards are easy to tidy, the scientists conclude that other alternatives could be utilized to decrease possible microplastic contamination in foods.
Recommendation: “Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food?” by Himani Yadav, Md Rakib Hasan Khan, Mohiuddin Quadir, Kelly A. Rusch, Partho Pritom Mondal, Megan Orr, Elvis Genbo Xu and Syeed Md Iskander, 23 May 2023, Environmental Science & & Technology.DOI: 10.1021/ acs.est.3 c00924.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department at North Dakota State University; the Department of Biology at University of Southern Denmark; and Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond.