<Anchor> When



you buy beef or pork, there is a thin pad inside the packaging that absorbs the blood of the meat. However, it was confirmed for the first time that a large amount of microplastics contained in the absorbent pad was still on the surface of the meat.



This is the exclusive report by Jang Se-man, an environmental reporter.



<Reporter>



A fresh meat packaging workshop in a large mart.



After cutting a chunk of meat into a certain size, put it in a disposable container and wrap it with plastic wrap, but there are some that do not fall out.



It's a matter of putting on a moisture absorbent pad.



The absorbent pad contains fine granules of SAP, or superabsorbent resin.



It absorbs moisture well and is mainly used for diapers and sanitary napkins, but it is also used for food.



The problem is that the absorbent SAP ingredient in the absorbent pad gets on the meat.



After purchasing three meat samples from a commercial mart and sending them to a specialized laboratory, SAP substances were detected on all meat surfaces.



Based on 200 grams, 1.6 milligrams on average is equivalent to 7,200 pieces of microplastic the size of a human hair.



[Jeong Jae-hak / Director of Korea Analytical Science Research Institute: Contaminated meat is now consumed by consumers, so I think there is a risk in terms of food hygiene and other aspects.]



SAP substances were also detected in 5 of the 6 meat samples requested by the reporters to a separate laboratory.



What is important is whether or not it is harmful to the human body, but research results are coming out that microplastics are harmful to the human body by penetrating into the respiratory tract, blood vessels, and organs and causing immune responses.



In addition, due to the nature of the SAP material, there is a possibility that substances of concern for toxicity may be mixed during the raw material production process.



For this reason, the US FDA has regulations limiting the proportion of substances of concern for toxicity when using SAP as food containers, but we have confirmed that there are no regulations.