Overview

• Anses analysis of cola, lemonade, iced tea and beer revealed glass bottles contain about 100 microplastic particles per liter, five to fifty times more than plastic bottles or cans.
• Investigators linked the contamination to microscopic scrapes in the paint on metal caps, likely caused by friction during storage.
• Tests on water and wine showed minimal microplastics in both glass and plastic containers, with averages of 4.5 and 1.6 particles per liter in glass and plastic respectively.
• Cap‐cleaning trials demonstrated that simple air blowing reduced particle counts from 287 to 106 per liter and that adding a water–alcohol rinse lowered levels further to 87.
• Anses said health risks cannot yet be assessed without toxicological benchmarks and recommends changing cap storage practices and reformulating paints to cut contamination.