New research by Queen’s University Belfast has found that chewing gum can release over a quarter of a million microplastics and detectable levels of nanoplastics into saliva within first hour of chewing.
Despite its everyday presence, with the UK consuming four billion pieces of plastic gum annually, most consumers remain unaware that regular chewing gum is, in fact, a single-use plastic. Under the vague ingredient term “gum base,” many gum brands include synthetic materials such as polyethylene (used in plastic bags), polyvinyl acetate (found in PVA glue), and butadiene-styrene rubber (used in car tyres).
Whilst logical that chewing gum made out of the same single-use plastic materials as car tyres, carrier bags and even glue, would lead to the transfer of microplastics into the human body, to date it has been difficult to measure, detect and quantify the microplastics that are released.
Through the use of automated Raman spectroscopy, researchers found more than 250,000 microplastics in saliva samples after one hour of chewing gum. Additionally, a qualitative presence of nanoplastics was also detected in all the samples collected during 0–20 min, 20–40 min and 40–60 min of the chewing activity, the majority of which were released during the first 0–20 min window.
Moreover, nanoplastics, due to their smaller size and ability to penetrate cellular barriers, pose an even greater threat to human health, linked to respiratory diseases, liver and lung damage, effect on sperm count and even DNA damage.
However, there are plastic-free alternatives. Nuud gum for example, is 100% plastic-free, plant-based and biodegradable, made using sustainably harvested tree sap called chicle. Unlike the giants of the industry, Nuud lists every single one of their ingredients on their packaging and launched a petition last month to ban plastic gum, which has amassed almost 30,000 signatures, highlighting rising public and scientific concern over plastics in everyday products
Dr C. Cao of Queen’s University Belfast says: “This study contributes to addressing micro and nano plastic pollution, which is a global concern, by introducing an effective and accessible method to detect these plastics, whilst uncovering overlooked sources of exposure, such as chewing gum. Our findings fill gaps in micro and nano plastic detection and underscore the importance of raising awareness and highlighting chewing gum as an unrecognised source of plastic exposure.”
