After microplastics were reported in toothpaste, researchers in Bangladesh said in the last week of July 2026 that they had also found the tiny plastic particles in milk, sugar and soybean oil. A joint study by Jahangirnagar University and the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), published in the international Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, estimated that through soybean oil alone an adult takes in an average of 17.65 particles a day, or about 6,441 a year. The findings caused wide public concern.
A microplastic is any plastic particle between one nanometre and five millimetres across.
Sixty Dhaka samples, nearly 54,000 particles a litre
The researchers collected 60 one-litre samples of soybean oil from supermarkets and open markets in Tejgaon, Uttara and Dhaka Cantonment. On average each litre held 53,922 microplastic particles. Loose oil averaged 59,778 particles a litre and bottled oil 48,067. The most contaminated was loose oil from Tejgaon, at 70,467 particles a litre.
To estimate intake, the team used daily oil consumption and average body weights of 70 kg for adults and 16 kg for children. Because children weigh less, their figure is far higher: 77.21 particles a day, about 28,180 a year. The Business Standard noted that these are model estimates built on assumed oil intake, body weight and life expectancy, not direct measurements of plastic inside the body.
Where the particles come from
Six plastic polymers were identified in the oil: low- and high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyurethane and nylon. Fibres made up 82.5 per cent of the particles, and 56.29 per cent were transparent. The team leader, Professor Shafi Muhammad Tareq of Jahangirnagar University's Department of Environmental Sciences, linked the higher levels in loose oil to dense industry, nearby textile and plastic factories and the repeated reuse of containers. Bottled oil can also pick up particles from pipes, seals and filters.
The researchers described three routes into food: directly from plastic bottles, packets and sacks; from machinery, pipes and conveyor belts wearing down in factories; and from discarded plastic breaking down into water, soil and air. According to researchers quoted by BBC Bangla, Bangladesh produces about 8,000 tonnes of plastic waste a day, more than half of it not properly managed.
Milk and sugar too
Two separate studies came out at the same time. A team from the Department of Nutrition and Food Technology at Jashore University of Science and Technology tested raw milk from several regions and processed milk from supermarkets and found microplastics in both, with more in processed milk. Most particles were transparent fibres, and polymers including PTFE (Teflon), PET and nylon-6 were identified. The researchers said children aged 4 to 10, who rely heavily on milk, face the greatest exposure.
The sugar study tested seven types of branded and loose sugar from Dhaka retail markets. Branded sugar held an average of 322 particles per kilogram and loose sugar about 403; the difference was not statistically significant, though loose sugar was somewhat more contaminated. Particles ranged from 12 micrometres to 3.19 millimetres. Earlier, the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) had found microplastics in 26 of 34 toothpaste samples from 19 brands.
What is known about the health risk, and what to do
Scientists said detailed research had yet to show how much microplastic affects which organ and in what way. Medical researchers believe particles smaller than 130 micrometres can enter the bloodstream, with possible digestive problems, hormonal imbalance, inflammation and long-term cell damage. Professor Tareq told BBC Bangla that the levels found were alarming and that more public and private research was needed, along with thought on how to reduce them.
The researchers called for monitoring at every stage of oil processing and packaging, food-grade filters and effective control over the sale of loose oil. Susan Gardner, director of the ecosystems division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), urged redesigning products to contain less plastic and fewer plastic fibres and not to shed into the environment after use, and an end to unnecessary plastic in transport and storage. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) urged people not to panic and said no brand should be called unsafe without full scientific and legal verification.
Photo: המבורגר1987 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sources: BBC Bangla, The Business Standard Bangla, Medivoice
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