研究：使用塑料砧板切菜会产生微塑料

塑料无处不在。从我们吃的食物到呼吸的空气，几乎任何东西中都可以发现微小的塑料颗粒，也称为“微塑料”。

Plastic is everywhere. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, tiny particles of plastic — also known as “microplastics” — can be found in almost anything.

塑料不仅给海洋造成了真正的破坏，而且需要几个世纪的时间才能腐烂，从而造成更大的环境危机，但毒理学家也质疑食用微塑料是否会对健康产生负面影响。尤其是当你经常使用一些塑料制品时，比如方便实用的塑料砧板。

Not only does plastic cause real havoc on our oceans and take centuries to decay, causing even more of an environmental crisis, but toxicologists have questioned whether consuming microplastics can negatively impact health. Especially if there are pieces of plastic you’re using on a regular basis, like say your handy-dandy plastic cutting board.

最近，《生态毒理学与公共健康》杂志发表了一项研究，对使用两种不同类型的塑料砧板在食物中发现的微塑料数量进行了评估。研究人员分别在聚丙烯砧板和聚乙烯砧板上切胡萝卜，评估在使用这两种塑料砧板时平均每个人的微塑料总接触量。

A recent study published by the journal, Ecotoxicology and Public Health evaluated the amount of microplastics found in a food between two different types of plastic cutting boards. Carrots were chopped on a cutting board made with polypropylene, and another with polyethylene. Scientists evaluated what the total exposure would be per person when using these types of plastic cutting boards.

研究结束时，他们发现每次使用这些塑料砧板都会在胡萝卜上产生1114个微塑料颗粒（长度小于5毫米的塑料碎片）。这意味着塑料砧板切菜每次会产生15毫克的微塑料，一年大约产生50克，相当于10张塑料信用卡。

At the end of the study, they found these plastic cutting boards resulted in 1,114 microplastic particles (pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long) on the carrots each time the board was used. This means a plastic cutting board could generate 15 milligrams of microplastics per cut, and around 50 grams a year — the equivalent of 10 plastic credit cards.

如此多的微塑料暴露在食物中，消费者是否应该担心？The Kitchn就经常使用塑料砧板对人体健康的影响以及是否应该考虑使用更健康的砧板采访了毒理学博士、公共卫生硕士、CIH（注册工业卫生师）亚历克斯·勒博。

With so many microplastics being exposed to our food, should consumers be worried? The Kitchn spoke with Alex LeBeau, PhD, MPH, CIH, a toxicologist and certified industrial hygienist on the impact on human health from using plastic cutting boards on a regular basis, and if there are healthier cutting board solutions we should consider.

起初，有关微塑料消耗的研究似乎并不乐观。有证据表明，微塑料可能存在于我们的血液、肺部甚至胎盘中，对身体健康有潜在危害。2022 年在韩国进行的一项动物研究发现，微塑料可能会干扰消化、呼吸、内分泌甚至生殖系统。

At first, the studies regarding microplastic consumption seem bleak. Evidence suggests that microplastics can be found in our blood, our lungs, and even our placenta, and can be potentially hazardous towards our physical health. A 2022 animal study in South Korea found microplastics could interfere with digestive, respiratory, endocrine, and even our reproductive systems.

然而，尽管这项研究会让塑料砧板使用者保持警惕，但重要的是要注意，这是一项新的科学研究，而且有很大局限性。勒博博士指出，虽然最近评估砧板的研究确实证明了微塑料颗粒的释放，但研究并没有声称这些砧板会对人类健康产生负面影响。他说：“在有限的模拟条件下，塑料的存在表明塑料砧板是潜在的暴露源，但尚不清楚它们是否对人类健康构成危害或对消费者构成任何风险。”

And yet, while this research will make a plastic cutting board-user seem wary, it’s important to note that the science is still new and very limited. Dr. LeBeau points out that while the recent study evaluating cutting boards does prove the release of microplastic particles, it does not make any claims towards the negative effects these cutting boards can have toward human health. “The presence of the plastics under limited simulated conditions identifies them as a potential exposure source, but it is unclear if they are a human health hazard or pose any risk to consumers,” he says.

此外，有关微塑料可能危害人类健康的研究都是在研究两者之间的相关性，而没有提出任何明确的说法，因为两者之间的联系还很难直接得出结论。

Plus, the studies that looks at microplastics potentially harming human health are all looking at correlation, without making any outright claims because the connection between the two is still harder to outright conclude.

是否应该更换砧板？

塑料砧板是否真的会对人体健康产生负面影响尚存在许多不确定性，但问题依然存在：我们是否应该抛弃塑料砧板，以防万一？

With so much uncertainty around whether plastic cutting boards actually negatively affect human health, the question still stands: should we get rid of them just in case?

勒博博士说，我们每天已经消耗了大量的微塑料（比如加工的食物中，甚至经过过滤的水中），所以砧板上的微塑料不会产生太大的影响。

Dr. Lebeau says that we’re already consuming so many microplastics throughout our day (like in our food we eat from production, or even sometimes in our water even if it’s been filtered), that the microplastics from cutting boards won’t be making a huge difference.

此外，勒博博士还提出要权衡使用其他类型砧板的利弊。虽然使用木质砧板看似更干净、更安全，但这类产品多孔，可能无法完全正确消毒，也就是会增加食源性疾病的风险。

Plus, Dr. Lebeau also brings up weighing the pros and cons of using other types of cutting boards. While using a wood cutting board may seem like a cleaner, safer option, these types of products are porous and may not be completely disinfected properly — a.k.a., increasing the risk of food-borne illness.

如果您想完全避免这两种情况，美国农业部建议将塑料和木质砧板换成竹子砧板，因为竹子比其他木质砧板密度更高，孔隙更少，可以降低风险。但一定要尽可能彻底清洁！

If you would like to avoid both altogether, the USDA recommends replacing your plastic and wood cutting boards with ones that are made from bamboo because they are denser and are less porous than other wood cutting boards, decreasing your risk. Just be sure to clean it as thoroughly as possible!

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