Microplastics in Salt and Sugar: What Indian Studies Found, and What to Do About It

Quick Note: This article is built on peer-reviewed and government-linked research, not my own lab testing. Where I cite a number, it’s coming from the actual study, not a news summary of it. Treat everything here as information to act on sensibly, not a reason to panic.

Salt and sugar sit in every Indian kitchen without a second thought, that same steel dabba, the sugar tin next to the chai patti. But recent Indian research has found microplastics in some commonly sold salt and sugar products, raising questions about how much exposure we may get from everyday foods. Researchers at NITTE University in Mangaluru tested 30 commercial salt brands sold across India. What’s shocking is they found microplastics turned up in 28 of them.

That’s not a small or cherry-picked number. It’s 93% of everything tested, using real lab methods, not a guess. So, let’s look into the topic of microplastics in salt and sugar to find out how concerned we should be, and what we can actually do about it.

Quick Answer: How Worried Should You Actually Be?

If you want the short version before the full breakdown on microplastics in salt and sugar:

• Iodised salt tested worst for microplastics, but it still prevents a real deficiency disease. Don’t drop it reflexively.
• Refined, purified salt tested cleanest, in fact the only samples with zero detectable microplastics were processed ones.
• Boiling does not remove microplastics, so don’t rely on cooking as a fix.
• Sea salt carried more than rock salt on average, tied to how each is actually produced.
• This is not an emergency for most healthy adults; it’s a reason for informed choices, not a reason to see a doctor, unless you’re pregnant, have a young child, or a thyroid condition.

Now, here’s what the actual research shows.

What Researchers Actually Tested, and How

The NITTE University team didn’t just eyeball salt under a microscope. They used Nile red fluorescent staining, a dye that binds specifically to plastic surfaces, mixed into a dissolved salt sample. Under fluorescence microscopy, plastic particles light up at a specific wavelength, tiny glowing fibres and jagged flecks scattered across an otherwise dark field. This separates them from mineral grains or other debris that could otherwise be mistaken for plastic. To confirm the exact type of plastic, researchers ran a second test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, or FTIR, which reads a material’s chemical signature.

This two-step process is the difference between a rough estimate and a defensible measurement. Eighteen sea salt brands and twelve rock salt brands were tested this way, all bought from real retail markets, three packets per brand.

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Microplastics in Salt and Sugar: A Detailed Breakdown

1. Sea Salt vs Rock Salt

Sea salt samples showed 13 to 27 microplastic particles per 100 grams, while rock salt ranged more widely, from 8 to 29 particles per 100 grams. On average, though, sea salt came out worse, and the reason is fairly intuitive once you think about how each is made. Sea salt comes from evaporating actual seawater, which is already carrying decades of ocean plastic pollution. Rock salt is mined from underground deposits laid down long before plastic existed, giving it a genuine structural head start on staying cleaner.

FTIR identified the dominant plastic across both types as PET, the same polymer used in disposable water bottles, making up 37% of everything found. PVC, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene showed up in smaller amounts, and together these five types of microplastics accounted for everything researchers detected.

2. Boiling Does Not Remove Microplastics

This is probably the single most practically important finding in the whole study, and it barely got mentioned in the news coverage that followed. Researchers took a salt sample already confirmed to contain microplastics and simulated real cooking, boiling it for 15 minutes, then ran it through FTIR again. The plastic particles were still there afterward, chemically unchanged. Ordinary cooking heat does not break them down or make them disappear from your food.

There was one genuinely reassuring detail in the same dataset. Two heavily processed, refined salt samples came back with zero detectable microplastics, most likely because industrial purification filters them out somewhere in the process.

3. Sugar Carries the Same Risk

The NITTE study only tested salt. A separate 2024 study by the Delhi-based environmental group Toxics Link, titled “Microplastics in Salt and Sugar,” tested sugar directly, five brands alongside ten types of salt.

Every single sample, salt and sugar alike, contained microplastics. It’s one of the clearest confirmations yet of microplastics in salt and sugar brands sold across India. Sugar ranged from 11.85 to 68.25 pieces per kilogram, with non-organic sugar consistently showing the highest levels. On the salt side, iodised salt tested worst at 89.15 pieces per kilogram, while organic rock salt tested cleanest at 6.70 pieces per kilogram. That’s broadly consistent with what the newer NITTE study found for rock salt generally.

4. Why Salt Matters More Than You’d Think

Toxics Link made a specific point in their findings. Among common food items tested, salt was the single biggest microplastic contributor, ahead of fruits and vegetables. Understanding the real sources of microplastics in an average Indian diet starts here, since salt isn’t eaten occasionally the way a particular fruit might be. It goes into nearly everything cooked in an Indian kitchen, every single day, for a lifetime.

5. The Iodised Salt Dilemma

Iodised salt tested worst for microplastics, but it exists for a real, serious public health reason. Iodine deficiency remains a genuine concern in parts of India, linked to thyroid problems and developmental issues in children when maternal intake is too low. Switching away from iodised salt on the strength of a headline alone risks trading one real problem for another.

This isn’t a simple “avoid iodised salt” story, and I don’t think it should be treated as one. If you’re considering switching salt types, do it thoughtfully, not reflexively, and talk to a doctor first if thyroid or iodine issues run in your family.

6. Daily Salt and Sugar Intake in India

The World Health Organization recommends under 5 grams of salt per day. A widely cited 2016 systematic review by Johnson et al., appeared in the Journal of Hypertension, found Indians eat around 10.98 grams of salt daily, more than double the limit. On sugar, WHO recommends free sugars stay under 10% of daily energy, ideally under 5%. ICMR-NIN translates this to roughly 25 grams, or 5 to 6 teaspoons, a day, and several independent estimates suggest actual Indian intake runs well above that.

If you consume more salt and sugar than recommended, you may also be consuming more of any contaminants present in those foods. That’s not a dramatic multiplication effect, it’s simply more servings of something that these studies found to be commonly contaminated.

7. FSSAI’s Response to Microplastic Contamination

Yes, and this is worth knowing. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India launched a dedicated project in March 2024 to develop standardised methods for detecting microplastics in food. That groundwork usually precedes actual enforceable limits, though none exist yet.

So What Should You Actually Do?

Don’t switch salt types solely because of this study: Two processed salt samples had no detectable microplastics, but that small finding isn’t enough to establish that refined salt is universally safer. If you use iodised salt, don’t abandon it because of this study alone.

Also, limit your overall salt and sugar intake: Most Indians already exceed WHO limits, so this helps on two fronts at once. But don’t drop iodised salt casually: If iodine deficiency is a real family concern, check with a doctor before switching. Think about packaging too; it’s a contributing factor, not the only one, so it’s not a complete fix on its own.

None of this is really about fear. It’s about knowing that a small daily choice, which salt sits in your kitchen, actually has real data behind it now. Make one small, informed swap in your kitchen instead of losing sleep over a bowl of dal you already ate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Detection and Characterisation of Microplastics in Food Grade Salts in India
2. Microplastics in Salt and Sugar
3. FSSAI Launches Project to Combat Microplastic Contamination in Food
4. Mean Population Salt Consumption in India: A Systematic Review
5. Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children
6. How to Avoid Microplastics, According to Researchers
7. Plastic Teabags Release Billions of Microparticles and Nanoparticles into Tea
8. Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy