A study from Queen's University Belfast highlights the potential dangers of chewing gum, revealing it releases up to 250,000 microplastics per hour. This alarming discovery raises questions about the long-term health effects of microplastics in humans. The research employs automated Raman spectroscopy to detect these particles, positioning chewing gum as a previously overlooked source of plastic exposure. Authors emphasize the need for increased awareness around microplastic pollution and the presence of synthetic materials in common products like gum, which contains components such as styrene-butadiene and polyethylene, typically associated with durability in plastics.
This study contributes to addressing micro and nano plastic pollution, which is a global concern, by introducing an effective and accessible method to detect these plastics, whilst uncovering overlooked sources of exposure, such as chewing gum.
Chemical analysis shows that gum contains styrene-butadiene (the durable synthetic chemical used to make car tyres), polyethylene (the plastic used to make carrier bags and bottles) and polyvinyl acetate (woodglue) as well as some sweetener and flavouring.
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