Microplastics and phthalate esters release from teabags into tea drink: Occurrence, human exposure, and health risks

Abstract Tea, the most common infusion worldwide, is usually sold in teabags due to the ease of usage. The increase in the use of plastic materials in the food packaging industry has led to an increase in released contaminants, such as microplastics (MPs) and phthalates (PAEs), in various food products including teabags. In this research, the abundance and features of MPs as well as PAEs concentration were investigated in 45 teabag samples of different Persian and German brands. The abundance of MPs in the Persian and German teabag samples were averagely 412.32 and 147.28 items/single teabag, respectively. Also, average PAEs levels in the Persian and German teabag samples were 2.87 and 2.37 mg/g, respectively. The predominant size category of MPs was relalated to 100–250 µm. Fibers and transparent were the dominant shape and color of detected MPs in teabags, respectively. Polyethylene (PE) and nylon were the most common MP polymer types. The most prominent PAEs congeners in teabag samples were diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP). Furthermore, MP exposure hazard through tea ingestion was analyzed for three age groups: Teens, adults, and children. DEHP showed the cancer risk (CR) for age groups of children, teens, and adults. The findings of this research indicated that high MPs and PAEs levels are released from teabags into tea drinks. Considering a daily drinking of a volume of 200–400 mL tea, 648–1296 MPs may enter the human body. Thus, tea prepared with teabag-packed herbs may pose a significant health risk for consumers.