Is There Plastic in Your Beer?
By now it’s not news to anyone that our oceans harbor swirling garbage patches of mostly plastic particles working their way—literally—up and through the food chain. Scary? Yes. But here’s something worse: Your favorite German beer has ‘em too. And bugs. And human skin. No wonder you’re supposed to quaff it from an opaque ceramic stein.
Related: The Problem With All That Craft Beer We’re Drinking
A new study of 24 popular German beer brands discovered traces of the plastic, which could have come from machinery, been in the bottles prior to filling, or simply been present in the water. As it breaks down into smaller and smaller particulates, plastic can float right through water treatment facilities. Examining the beers under a microscope also revealed large and small scales of the human epidermis (skin) which likely flaked off the arms of the brewers as they toiled away. Bits of glass and an “almost complete” bug were also found.
Related: The Best Beers of the Future
Does this mean you should eschew brews of the German persuasion this Oktoberfest? Thankfully, no. While the study demonstrates that microplastic pollution is prevalent enough to have infested every aspect of our lives, there are not enough contaminants present to cause any harm. Which is more than this London lass can say, after allegedly finding a rotting wishbone in her Bud Light.
Bottoms up!
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