Mumbai, June 22: A new study has found that glass bottles contain more microplastics than plastic bottles. The study, conducted by France’s food safety agency ANSES, also found that glass bottles used for drinks such as soft drinks, lemonade, iced tea, water, soda, and even beer contain around 100 microplastic particles per litre. This is 50 times higher than the microplastic particles present in plastic or metal containers. Notably, ANSES shared the study on Friday, June 20.

The new study by France’s food safety agency has raised questions about how packaging affects what we drink. The unexpected result also contradicts the longstanding assumption that glass bottles are safer than plastic ones. It is worth noting that the findings by ANSES were published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. As per the study, the researchers expected the glass bottles to be comparatively safer than plastic bottles; however, the outcome of the findings surprised them. New Study Reveals Infants Feel Pain Before They Can Understand It.

What Did the New Study by ANSES Find?

During its study, the research team looked at drinks like soda, beer, lemonade, iced tea, water, and wine, which are sold in different types of bottles across France. They found that glass bottles had an average of 100 microplastic particles per litre. On the other hand, plastic bottles had much lower levels of microplastic particles, between five and 50. Iseline Chaib, a PhD student who worked on the study, said, “We were expecting the opposite.”

The new study also found that most of the microplastic particles which were found in glass bottles came from the paint on the caps that sealed them. As per the study, the plastic particles are released due to tiny scratches, which occur when caps rub against each other while in storage. “We then noticed that in the glass, the particles emerging from the samples were the same shape, colour and polymer composition, so therefore the same plastic as the paint on the outside of the caps that seal the glass bottles,” Chaib added. New Study Shows Extreme Glacier Mass Loss Already at 2 Degrees Celsius; More Than Twice if Current Policies Continue.

Which Drinks Were Most Affected?

According to the study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, beer bottles had the highest microplastic count, with an average of 60 particles per litre. This was followed by lemonade, which had about 40 microplastic particles per litre, water with 1.6 to 4.5 particles, soft drinks with 30 particles, and wine with very few microplastic particles per litre. Guillaume Duflos, research director of ANSES, said the reason for the contradiction of microplastic particles being more in glass bottles remains unclear at this stage.

However, the agency did try to come up with a possible solution to the problem. ANSES said that drink makers can reduce microplastic levels by cleaning the bottle caps better. The agency further said that a simple method using air, water, and alcohol reduced contamination by 60 per cent.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2025 05:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).