Beer carries plastic from water waste
THE plastic pollution tainting our water supplies is finding its way into beer.
A study of 12 brands of pilsner-style lager alongside tap water and sea salt found microplastics – smaller than 5mm – in all.
Of plastics found in the beer, more than 98% were fibres, averaging 1mm in length. The remainder were small fragments.
Drinking a 340ml beer (two-thirds of a pint) a day could mean ingesting 520 plastic particles a year and “raises concern”, the University of Minnesota and State University of New York teams said.
The beers were by firms using water from the great lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
Low-alcohol booze may actually encourage us to have more, a study found.