Researchers testing brands of bottled mineral water on sale in the UK for traces of microplastic have found that "almost all were contaminated to some degree" with potentially harmful particles.
The flakes, which come from sources like cosmetics, clothing and industrial processes, were detected in almost all of the bottles of water tested by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The team examined more than 250 bottles of water from 11 different brands from around the world in one of the biggest studies of its kind.
"We are becoming increasingly aware of microplastics in the environment and their potentially harmful effects, but their prevalence in other areas has been much less studied", said Dr Andrew Mayes, who led the study.
"They have been reported in tap water, beer and many other foods, but I think that people will be surprised that almost all bottled water appears to be contaminated too."
Dr Mayes and his team at UEA's School of Chemistry pioneered a new method for detecting tiny bits of plastic that can be ingested and accumulate in the body.
He said that conventional methods would have been hugely time consuming and prohibitively expensive, although the new technique uses dye to rapidly screen for the particles.
Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports and throw into question the merits of drinking bottled water over glasses straight from the tap and the daily hydration habits of millions of British consumers.
