Kerala High Court Sounds Alarm on Microplastics Contaminating Food via Delivery Containers

Microplastic particles that are spilled into hot foods might pose major health hazards, according to a warning issued by the Kerala High Court on June 12 over the growing usage of plastic containers by food delivery services. The court expressed great worry regarding this trend.

During a hearing on a public interest petition that was titled “Prasanna EV v. State of Kerala & Ors,” Justice Devan Ramachandran emphasized that the consumption of microplastics may be linked to a variety of chronic ailments.

He also directed the state government to conduct a critical review of the current packaging practices and the impact that they have on food safety.

In a statement that brought attention to the fact that the anti-plastic movement lost steam during the COVID-19 epidemic, the bench said that the increase in the number of online food orders has resulted in a widespread reliance on single-use plastic containers for the storage of rice, curries, and gravies.

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After seeing that these polymers, when subjected to heat, had the potential to leak microplastics and chemical residues into consumables, which might possibly accumulate in the human body over time, Justice Ramachandran made this observation.

In addition, the court cited the concerns of medical professionals that the consumption of microplastics may be a contributing factor to the increasing number of cases of malignancies of the liver, digestive tract, and colon. The bench was given the assurance by the Additional Director General of Prosecution, Gracious Kuriakose, that the case would be properly investigated, and a detailed report would be presented.

According to the ruling that was issued, the High Court gave the State a period of two weeks to provide its answer about the planned regulatory measures, and it set the subsequent hearing for three weeks from now.

For the sake of protecting the health of the general public, the bench stressed how important it is to have clear criteria for environmentally friendly and health-safe food packaging.