Plastic salt and pepper grinders shed microplastics into your food
Do this instead
- Refillable mill with a ceramic grinderCeramic didn't add plastic particles in the comparison tests.
- Refillable mill with a stainless steel grinderMetal burrs don't wear into plastic dust.
- Check the mechanism, not just the bodySome refillable mills still use plastic burrs inside a glass or wood body.
The short version
Several labs ground salt and pepper through grinders with plastic burrs and found plastic particles in the result. The disposable, pre-filled grinders sold in grocery stores almost all use plastic mechanisms. Health effects are still being studied, but this exposure is easy to avoid.
The evidence
Polish researchers tested Himalayan salt and black pepper grinders with plastic burrs and confirmed the burrs wear down and release microplastics into the spice. The amount depended on the type of plastic.[1]
Researchers at the University of Münster compared three disposable plastic grinders with two ceramic ones. Two grinders made of POM plastic released several thousand particles per 100 mg of ground salt.[2]
A study of pre-filled salt grinders from three retailers found every plastic grinder head released far more particles than a ceramic mortar. One polycarbonate head released about 15,700 particles per 50 g of salt.[3]
Spot an error or have newer test results? Email corrections@doctorsoni.ca and we'll review it. How we decide verdicts