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Microplastic contamination in traditional herbal beverages: sources, transfer pathways, and mitigation across the field-to-consumption continuum
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This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics may contaminate herbal drinks like jamu and herbal teas, from farming and processing through packaging and brewing. It found manufacturing and heating plastic-packaged products may add more particles than growing or brewing, but differences between studies limit firm conclusions about health risks.
Traditional herbal beverages, including jamu, wedang pokak, herbal infusions, and liquid herbal medicines, may be exposed to microplastic contamination throughout production and consumption. This structured critical review synthesizes peer-reviewed Scopus-indexed studies published mainly from 2019 to August 2026 to identify contamination sources, transfer pathways, and mitigation strategies across the field-toconsumption continuum. Direct evidence from herbal teas and liquid herbal medicines was distinguished from transferable findings involving agricultural systems, tea processing, spices, commercial beverages, and food contact materials. Evidence identifies agricultural soils, irrigation water, atmospheric deposition, plant surfaces, potential plant uptake, processing equipment, filtration, hot extraction, and packaging as contamination sources or pathways. Tea-based analogue studies suggest that manufacturing may contribute more substantially to microplastic abundance than cultivation or brewing, while heating plastic-packaged liquid herbal medicines can markedly increase particle release. However, differences in particle-size thresholds, sample preparation, contamination controls, and polymer identification limit cross-study comparisons and quantitative exposure assessment. Consequently, existing exposure estimates should be interpreted as preliminary screening indicators rather than definitive health-risk thresholds. This review proposes a field-toconsumption management framework integrating cleaner raw materials and water, reduced high-temperature plastic contact, low-shedding processing equipment, validated packaging, and microplastic-specific quality assurance. Future studies should employ standardized analytical protocols and paired sampling across traditional herbal beverage production chains, particularly in tropical regions, to identify critical contamination stages, quantify transfer, and validate mitigation effectiveness
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