KARACHI: In the seaside mega city, tea is a stable and the beverage of choice for the majority. For many, a cup of doodh patti (tea) to unwind after a long day of work is part of the routine. But the joy of traditional tea could come with a harmful side effect, according to a recent study that found traces of microplastics in Karachi’s doodh patti.

Jinnah University for Women (JUW) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conducted a study that revealed there are 100-1200 pieces of microplastics in your daily cup of chai.

Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to aquatic life and human health.

According to Moazzam Ali Khan, the technical Advisor for WWF Pakistan, the research focused on food consumed on a daily basis, starting with doodh patti chai as it is one of the most popular beverages in Pakistan.

These particles are being added to people’s food via plastic in the environment. The city’s climate and the environment contains chemicals, germs, and harmful gases that settle on the surface of the plastic, the study found. Then they enter the human body in the form of particles, which can have negative effects on health.

Moazzam Ali Khan thinks that there may be several factors for plastic particles in tea. Since fiber plastic has been found in chai, there is a strong possibility that the tea leaves and the way they are being filtered at the many tea cafes could be substandard.

Prof. Dr. Rana Hadi from Jinnah University for Women said that her team started this research from Karachi’s coast. The study found that the amount of microplastics along the coast is increasing to alarming levels. About 300 microplastic particles were found in one gram of sand, which indicates a very high level of contamination along the coastline.

Karachi’s coastal strip, particularly in the affluent Defence Housing Authority that is closeby, is extremely popular for tea cafes that dominate entire commercial strips.

According to Dr. Rana, samples of milk tea were taken from various hotels and dhabas in which plastic particles were found, which are regularly entering the human body on a daily basis.

Dr. Rana said that microplastics are not visible to the human eye and do not disappear quickly, due to which the inclusion of particles from the environment in food and the chemicals and germs on the plastic can be dangerous for human health. It can also cause diseases like cancer.

The research team said there was an urgent need to reduce the use of plastic immediately to protect both human health and the environment.