Does sea salt from your kitchen contain microplastics?

What's actually in it

Sea salt is made by evaporating ocean water. Since the oceans contain vast amounts of plastic pollution, some of that plastic gets concentrated along with the salt. The particles are too small to see, but lab analysis finds them consistently. Table salt, pink salt, and flake salt sourced from the sea all carry this risk.

You might only use a pinch per meal, but salt goes into almost everything you cook. Over a lifetime, the microplastic doses add up.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Mar Pollut Bull examined sea salt samples and found microplastic particles embedded in the product. The researchers then discovered something unexpected: the plastic surfaces were acting as rafts for pathogenic Vibrio bacteria.

These bacteria, which can cause food poisoning and wound infections, clung to the microplastics and survived in the salt. In lab tests, the combination of microplastics plus bacteria impaired development in test organisms more than either one alone.

The finding adds a second concern beyond the plastic itself. Microplastics in your salt aren't just inert particles. They can carry hitchhiking germs into your food.

Mined rock salt and Himalayan salt tend to have fewer microplastics than sea-sourced varieties, since they come from ancient deposits laid down before modern plastic pollution. If you prefer sea salt, choosing brands that filter or test for contaminants can help.