11/30/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/1D9rFAk9Bw/
Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva.
A recent pilot study led by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has revealed that chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva — and potentially into our bodies.
The researchers asked one volunteer to chew ten popular gum brands for up to 20 minutes, collecting saliva samples at regular intervals. They found that a typical gum piece released on average ≈ 100 microplastic particles per gram — with some shedding up to ~600 per gram, which could amount to ≈ 3,000 particles per stick.
Importantly, 94% of the microplastics were released within the first 8 minutes of chewing. The types of polymers included common plastics like polyolefins and polystyrenes — and crucially, “natural” gums shed microplastics at rates similar to synthetic ones.
While it remains unclear how harmful these microplastics are to human health, this study highlights chewing gum as a previously overlooked source of plastic exposure. For regular gum chewers — particularly those chewing many pieces per year — the cumulative intake may be non-trivial. As a precautionary note, reducing gum consumption or extending the chewing duration of a single piece (rather than frequently switching pieces) could limit microplastic ingestion.
📄 Source: American Chemical Society. "Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva, pilot study finds. 2025.
