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Amazing iguanas conquered Fiji after a 5,000-mile journey

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Monday, March 24, 2025

Watch a video about how iguanas floated 1/5 of the way around the world to colonize Fiji. Thumbnail image via Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). For many years, scientists have wondered where the iguanas that inhabit the remote and isolated islands of Fiji and Tonga came from. Finally, a team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco said on March 17, 2025, they have an answer. These reptiles likely arrived on the islands by rafting from western North America. This means the iguanas traveled 5,000 miles (8,000 km) on natural rafts across the Pacific Ocean. To solve the mystery, the researchers analyzed the DNA of more than 200 iguana specimens from museums around the world. They also discovered that the iguanas arrived on the islands about 34 million years ago, either as soon as the islands formed or shortly afterward. The scientists published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 17, 2025. Simon Scarpetta, the study’s lead author, is a herpetologist and paleontologist, former postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, and current assistant professor in the USF Department of Environmental Sciences. Fiji and Tonga iguanas broke a record Iguanas are fascinating animals: They can change color, detach their tails, have a third eye on top of their heads, know how to swim and can dive for 30 minutes. But traveling 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from the west coast of North America to these distant islands is a big deal. The four species that inhabit the islands of Fiji and Tonga have earned the well-deserved record for the longest known transoceanic dispersal of any non-human terrestrial vertebrate. These iguanas belong to the genus Brachylophus. Although iguanas commonly float on natural rafts made of fallen trees and plants – and transport themselves using this system – making such a long journey seemed impossible. Jimmy McGuire, co-author of the study and professor of integrative biology and herpetology curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, said: That they reached Fiji directly from North America seems crazy. There are 45 species of Iguanidae that live in the Caribbean and the tropical, subtropical and desert regions of North, Central and South America. Therefore, scientists looked for the origin of the Brachylophus genus in nearer locations. Central and South America seemed more likely options than North America. 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is available. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar with phases of the moon for every night of the year. Get yours today! This is a male Fiji crested iguana. Image via Michael Howard/ Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0). The mysterious origin of Brachylophus iguanas Seeing iguanas floating on rafts in the Caribbean is a common sight. In fact, this is what happened centuries ago, when they embarked on a 600-mile (970-km) journey from Central America to colonize the Galapagos Islands. Scientists hypothesized that, if this had occurred previously, the iguanas could have continued their journey further to reach Fiji and Tonga from the western Pacific. Researchers also proposed the idea that they could have arrived from tropical South America, via Antarctica or Australia. However, there is no genetic or fossil evidence to support these hypotheses. According to McGuire: When you don’t really know where Brachylophus fits at the base of the tree, then where they came from can also be almost anywhere. So it was much easier to imagine that Brachylophus originated from South America, since we already have marine and land iguanas in the Galapagos that almost certainly dispersed to the islands from the mainland. This is a Fiji banded iguana at the Vienna Zoo in Austria. Image via Robert F. Tobler/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Their origin confirmed! Previous genetic analyses of some iguanid lizard genes were inconclusive about the relationship of Fiji and Tonga iguanas to the rest. A few years ago, during his postdoctoral studies, lead author Simon Scarpetta began a detailed investigation of all Iguania genera with the goal of clarifying the group’s family tree. McGuire explained that: Different relationships have been inferred in these various analyses, none with particularly strong support. So there was still this uncertainty about where Brachylophus really fits within the iguanid phylogeny. Simon’s data really nailed this thing. Scarpetta compiled DNA from genomic sequences of more than 4,000 genes and from tissues of more than 200 iguana specimens found in museum collections around the world. When comparing these data, one result stood out clearly: Fiji and Tonga iguanas are closely related to iguanas of the genus Dipsosaurus. The most widespread of this genus is the North American desert iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, adapted to the scorching heat of the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Scarpetta stated that: Iguanas and desert iguanas, in particular, are resistant to starvation and dehydration, so my thought process is, if there had to be any group of vertebrate or any group of lizard that really could make an 8,000 kilometer journey across the Pacific on a mass of vegetation, a desert iguana-like ancestor would be the one. This is a male Brachylophus bulabula at the Berlin Aquarium in Germany. Image via JSutton93/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). The origin of the islands and their colonization In addition to demonstrating that Brachylophus iguanas did indeed arrive from North America, the scientists also established that they reached Fiji and Tonga around 34 million years ago. They rejected alternative models involving colonization from adjacent lands because they didn’t correspond with this period of time. In fact, biologists had previously proposed that Fijian and Tongan iguanas could have descended from an older, more widespread lineage in the Pacific (now extinct). However, the dates did not match. This exhaustive analysis also explains when the genetic divergence of Brachylophus iguanas from their closest relatives, the North American Dipsosaurus desert iguanas, occurred. The study suggests that Brachylophus iguanas may have even colonized the volcanic islands of Fiji and Tonga as soon as land emerged 34 million years ago or shortly after their formation, thus diverging from Dipsosaurus iguanas. According to Scarpetta: We found that the Fiji iguanas are most closely related to the North American desert iguanas, something that hadn’t been figured out before, and that the lineage of Fiji iguanas split from their sister lineage relatively recently, much closer to 30 million years ago, either post-dating or at about the same time that there was volcanic activity that could have produced land. This is a female Gau iguana. Image via Mark Fraser/ Wikipedia (public domain). How did they get to the islands? Despite being very resilient creatures, it’s still surprising they were able to undertake this adventure. Dispersal over water is the main way newly formed islands are populated with plants and animals. And this is quite impressive. Let’s imagine the situation … A modern-day sailor using the wind to reach Fiji from California would need about a month to get there. Can you imagine how long it would take the iguanas floating on a raft? Fortunately, iguanas are accustomed to going long periods of time without food or water. On the other hand, the rafts they traveled on were likely made of fallen trees and other plants. Fortunately, iguanas are herbivores, and the raft itself would have provided them with food. The dispersal of animals often leads to the evolution of new species and entirely new ecosystems. Other islands besides Fiji and Tonga may have also hosted iguanas, but volcanic islands tend to disappear as easily as they appear. Evidence of other Pacific Island iguanas, if they existed, has likely been lost. So Fiji’s iguanas are an outlier, lying alone in the middle of the Pacific. Unfortunately, all four species from Fiji and Tonga are listed as critically endangered. This is primarily due to habitat loss and exploitation by smugglers who fuel the exotic pet trade. A Fijian crested iguana on at the Taronga Zoo in Australia. Image via Pelagic/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Bottom line: Iguanas are incredible reptiles that can live without food or water for long periods of time. This allowed them to travel 5,000 miles from North America to Fiji and Tonga and conquer the islands. Via University of California, Berkeley Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Colorful iguanas are our lifeform of the weekThe post Amazing iguanas conquered Fiji after a 5,000-mile journey first appeared on EarthSky.

Iguanas are incredible reptiles that can live without food or water for long periods of time. They rafted 5,000 miles from North America to Fiji and Tonga. The post Amazing iguanas conquered Fiji after a 5,000-mile journey first appeared on EarthSky.

Watch a video about how iguanas floated 1/5 of the way around the world to colonize Fiji. Thumbnail image via Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

For many years, scientists have wondered where the iguanas that inhabit the remote and isolated islands of Fiji and Tonga came from. Finally, a team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco said on March 17, 2025, they have an answer. These reptiles likely arrived on the islands by rafting from western North America. This means the iguanas traveled 5,000 miles (8,000 km) on natural rafts across the Pacific Ocean.

To solve the mystery, the researchers analyzed the DNA of more than 200 iguana specimens from museums around the world. They also discovered that the iguanas arrived on the islands about 34 million years ago, either as soon as the islands formed or shortly afterward. The scientists published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 17, 2025.

Simon Scarpetta, the study’s lead author, is a herpetologist and paleontologist, former postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, and current assistant professor in the USF Department of Environmental Sciences.

Fiji and Tonga iguanas broke a record

Iguanas are fascinating animals: They can change color, detach their tails, have a third eye on top of their heads, know how to swim and can dive for 30 minutes. But traveling 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from the west coast of North America to these distant islands is a big deal.

The four species that inhabit the islands of Fiji and Tonga have earned the well-deserved record for the longest known transoceanic dispersal of any non-human terrestrial vertebrate. These iguanas belong to the genus Brachylophus.

Although iguanas commonly float on natural rafts made of fallen trees and plants – and transport themselves using this system – making such a long journey seemed impossible. Jimmy McGuire, co-author of the study and professor of integrative biology and herpetology curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, said:

That they reached Fiji directly from North America seems crazy.

There are 45 species of Iguanidae that live in the Caribbean and the tropical, subtropical and desert regions of North, Central and South America. Therefore, scientists looked for the origin of the Brachylophus genus in nearer locations. Central and South America seemed more likely options than North America.

2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is available. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar with phases of the moon for every night of the year. Get yours today!

Iguanas: A mostly green reptile with white areas lying on a tree branch. It has a line of short spikes on its back. — This is a male Fiji crested iguana. Image via Michael Howard/ Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0).

The mysterious origin of Brachylophus iguanas

Seeing iguanas floating on rafts in the Caribbean is a common sight. In fact, this is what happened centuries ago, when they embarked on a 600-mile (970-km) journey from Central America to colonize the Galapagos Islands.

Scientists hypothesized that, if this had occurred previously, the iguanas could have continued their journey further to reach Fiji and Tonga from the western Pacific. Researchers also proposed the idea that they could have arrived from tropical South America, via Antarctica or Australia. However, there is no genetic or fossil evidence to support these hypotheses.

According to McGuire:

When you don’t really know where Brachylophus fits at the base of the tree, then where they came from can also be almost anywhere. So it was much easier to imagine that Brachylophus originated from South America, since we already have marine and land iguanas in the Galapagos that almost certainly dispersed to the islands from the mainland.

A green and bluish reptile lying on a tree branch. It has long toes and a very small crest all along its body and tail. — This is a Fiji banded iguana at the Vienna Zoo in Austria. Image via Robert F. Tobler/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Their origin confirmed!

Previous genetic analyses of some iguanid lizard genes were inconclusive about the relationship of Fiji and Tonga iguanas to the rest. A few years ago, during his postdoctoral studies, lead author Simon Scarpetta began a detailed investigation of all Iguania genera with the goal of clarifying the group’s family tree. McGuire explained that:

Different relationships have been inferred in these various analyses, none with particularly strong support. So there was still this uncertainty about where Brachylophus really fits within the iguanid phylogeny. Simon’s data really nailed this thing.

Scarpetta compiled DNA from genomic sequences of more than 4,000 genes and from tissues of more than 200 iguana specimens found in museum collections around the world. When comparing these data, one result stood out clearly: Fiji and Tonga iguanas are closely related to iguanas of the genus Dipsosaurus.

The most widespread of this genus is the North American desert iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, adapted to the scorching heat of the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Scarpetta stated that:

Iguanas and desert iguanas, in particular, are resistant to starvation and dehydration, so my thought process is, if there had to be any group of vertebrate or any group of lizard that really could make an 8,000 kilometer journey across the Pacific on a mass of vegetation, a desert iguana-like ancestor would be the one.

Long and thin reptile with a light green color. His tail is darker. He is lying on a tree branch. — This is a male Brachylophus bulabula at the Berlin Aquarium in Germany. Image via JSutton93/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The origin of the islands and their colonization

In addition to demonstrating that Brachylophus iguanas did indeed arrive from North America, the scientists also established that they reached Fiji and Tonga around 34 million years ago. They rejected alternative models involving colonization from adjacent lands because they didn’t correspond with this period of time.

In fact, biologists had previously proposed that Fijian and Tongan iguanas could have descended from an older, more widespread lineage in the Pacific (now extinct). However, the dates did not match.

This exhaustive analysis also explains when the genetic divergence of Brachylophus iguanas from their closest relatives, the North American Dipsosaurus desert iguanas, occurred. The study suggests that Brachylophus iguanas may have even colonized the volcanic islands of Fiji and Tonga as soon as land emerged 34 million years ago or shortly after their formation, thus diverging from Dipsosaurus iguanas. According to Scarpetta:

We found that the Fiji iguanas are most closely related to the North American desert iguanas, something that hadn’t been figured out before, and that the lineage of Fiji iguanas split from their sister lineage relatively recently, much closer to 30 million years ago, either post-dating or at about the same time that there was volcanic activity that could have produced land.

A green reptile lying on the ground. She has very long fingers and toes. — This is a female Gau iguana. Image via Mark Fraser/ Wikipedia (public domain).

How did they get to the islands?

Despite being very resilient creatures, it’s still surprising they were able to undertake this adventure. Dispersal over water is the main way newly formed islands are populated with plants and animals.

And this is quite impressive. Let’s imagine the situation … A modern-day sailor using the wind to reach Fiji from California would need about a month to get there. Can you imagine how long it would take the iguanas floating on a raft?

Fortunately, iguanas are accustomed to going long periods of time without food or water. On the other hand, the rafts they traveled on were likely made of fallen trees and other plants. Fortunately, iguanas are herbivores, and the raft itself would have provided them with food.

The dispersal of animals often leads to the evolution of new species and entirely new ecosystems. Other islands besides Fiji and Tonga may have also hosted iguanas, but volcanic islands tend to disappear as easily as they appear. Evidence of other Pacific Island iguanas, if they existed, has likely been lost. So Fiji’s iguanas are an outlier, lying alone in the middle of the Pacific.

Unfortunately, all four species from Fiji and Tonga are listed as critically endangered. This is primarily due to habitat loss and exploitation by smugglers who fuel the exotic pet trade.

Green and white reptile lying on a high branch. It has a long tail hanging and almost touching the ground. — A Fijian crested iguana on at the Taronga Zoo in Australia. Image via Pelagic/ Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Bottom line: Iguanas are incredible reptiles that can live without food or water for long periods of time. This allowed them to travel 5,000 miles from North America to Fiji and Tonga and conquer the islands.

Via University of California, Berkeley

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Colorful iguanas are our lifeform of the week

The post Amazing iguanas conquered Fiji after a 5,000-mile journey first appeared on EarthSky.

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RFK Jr. champions ban on artificial food dyes as states follow suit

Twenty states have introduced nearly 40 bills targeting synthetic dyes within the first three months of 2025

In addition to his fight against ultra-processed foods and seed oils, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing to ban artificial food dyes from the nation’s food supply — and many states are following suit. Last week, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed into law a bill that was passed earlier this month by state lawmakers banning seven food dyes commonly found in food products and drugs. The ban applies to Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 along with the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben. “West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there's no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission,” Morrisey said in a statement obtained by CBS News, citing RFK Jr.’s ongoing campaign. “By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we're taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges.” Starting Aug. 1, the dyes will be banned from meals served through school nutrition programs, according to the governor's office. On Jan. 1, 2028, the dyes and the two preservatives will not be allowed in drugs and foods sold in the state. According to the Environmental Working Group, a food safety advocacy group, 58 states have introduced legislation targeting artificial food dyes and food chemicals. Twenty of those states — including Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia and New York — have introduced nearly 40 bills within the first three months of this year. Arizona’s H.B. 2164, for example, would prohibit public schools from serving or selling foods containing the following additives: Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide and brominated vegetable oil (BVO). Additionally, New York’s S. 1239 and A.B. 1556 would ban the sale, distribution and production of food products containing Red No. 3, potassium bromate and propylparaben. It would also ban public schools from serving or selling foods containing Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3. The recent legislation comes after California enacted the California Food Safety Act back in 2023. The law prohibits the use of four harmful additives — potassium bromate, propylparaben, Red No. 3 and BVO — in food products sold, manufactured or distributed in the state. Last year, California also enacted the California School Food Safety Act, which bans Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 from food served in public schools. Concerns about artificial food dyes have regained traction in the wake of the Trump administration. RFK Jr. and supporters claim that synthetic dyes are both unnecessary and harmful, pointing to reports linking such dyes to behavioral problems in children. Most recently, RFK Jr. urged CEOs of several food industry giants — including PepsiCo, General Mills, Smucker's, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg's — to eliminate artificial food dyes from their products. 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Plastics Are Seeping Into Farm Fields, Food and Eventually Human Bodies. Can They Be Stopped?

Around the world, plastics are finding their way into farm fields

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — In Uganda's Mbale district, famous for its production of arabica coffee, a plague of plastic bags locally known as buveera is creeping beyond the city. It's a problem that has long littered the landscape in Kampala, the capital, where buveera are woven into the fabric of daily life. They show up in layers of excavated dirt roads and clog waterways. But now, they can be found in remote areas of farmland, too. Some of the debris includes the thick plastic bags used for planting coffee seeds in nurseries.Some farmers are complaining, said Wilson Watira, head of a cultural board for the coffee-growing Bamasaba people. “They are concerned – those farmers who know the effects of buveera on the land,” he said.Around the world, plastics find their way into farm fields. Climate change makes agricultural plastic, already a necessity for many crops, even more unavoidable for some farmers. 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AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

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Levels of lead and other heavy metals spiked in the coastal waters off Los Angeles after January’s fires, raising serious concerns for the long-term health of fish, marine mammals and the marine food chain, according to test results released Thursday by the nonprofit environmental group Heal the Bay.For human surfers and swimmers, the results were somewhat encouraging. Contaminant levels from sampled water weren’t high enough to pose likely health risks to recreational beachgoers. But tests of seawater collected before and after the heavy rains that came in late January, after the fires abated, identified five heavy metals — beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead — at levels significantly above established safety thresholds for marine life.Even at relatively low concentrations, these metals can damage cells and disrupt reproduction and other biological processes in sea animals.The metals also accumulate in the tissues of animals exposed to them, and then make their way up the food chain as those organisms are eaten by larger ones.“Most of these metals are easy to transfer through the food web and impact humans directly or indirectly, via food or drinking water,” said Dimitri Deheyn, a marine biologist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All are found in dust and rocks, and aren’t harmful in the context of those minute, naturally-occurring exposures. “That is why these elements are dangerous,” Deheyn said. “Our body is designed to take them up, but we are usually exposed to only a small amount of it.”On Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 — before the rain that came the following week — Heal the Bay staff collected seawater samples from eight locations along the coastline in or near the Palisades burn scar, in addition to control samples well outside the burn zone at Paradise Cove in Malibu and Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes Estates.They took additional samples on Jan. 28, after the first major storm in months dropped half an inch of rain on the L.A. basin and flushed debris into the sea.They tested for 116 pollutants. The vast majority were either not present or detected in only minuscule amounts in almost all the samples collected.But levels of beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead were two to four times higher than the maximum allowed under California state law at Big Rock Beach in Malibu, where the wreckage of several destroyed houses still lie on the sand. “That’s not surprising as that’s where we have burned debris within the high tide line, [where] every minute of every day the ocean is lapping more and more contaminants into the sea,” said Heal the Bay Chief Executive Tracy Quinn.At the Santa Monica Pier and Dockweiler Beach, both of which are south of the burn scar, levels of both lead and chromium were roughly triple California’s safety threshold for marine life. At the Santa Monica test location after the rains, the level of beryllium — a metal that is toxic to fish and corals and causes respiratory distress in humans — was more than 10 times the maximum limit allowed.Further study is needed to determine whether fire-related contaminants are pooling in those areas or if the high levels are coming from another source of pollution, Quinn said. “We don’t recommend that people consume fish that are caught in the Santa Monica Bay right now,” Quinn said.The levels in these first results suggest that more testing is warranted, said Susanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University. “Anytime there’s a large residential wildfire, this is the kind of contamination you’re going to see,” she said. “I would look at these results and say, OK, we need to test soils, we need to test drinking water,.”Quinn noted several limitations in Heal the Bay’s data. The samples were collected in late January, and may not be representative of current ocean conditions. There are also no baseline data showing prefire conditions in the same area to which they could compare their samples, because there are no regular testing programs for these contaminants, she said.The organization also sampled 25 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organic compounds that form when oil, wood or garbage burns. The organization expects results in the coming weeks, Quinn said. January’s fires and the heavy rains that followed sent unprecedented amounts of ash, debris and chemical residue coursing into the sea via the L.A. region’s massive network of storm drains and concrete-lined rivers.The Palisades and Eaton fires burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings. In the months since they erupted, the remnants of cars, plastics, batteries, household chemicals and other potentially toxic material have continued to wash into the sea and up onto beaches.“I don’t think there’s a precedent for this kind of input into the ocean ecosystem,” marine biologist Noelle Bowlin said in January.In addition to fire contamination, California’s sea life is also under threat from an outbreak of domoic acid, a neurotoxin released by some marine algae species.Hundreds of animals have washed up sick or dead along California’s southern and central coasts in recent weeks, in the fourth domoic acid event in as many years.While nutrients such as sulfate and phosphorous that feed harmful algae were among the substances the fires released into the sea, Heal the Bay said it has not found a correlation between fire-related pollution and the outbreak now sickening marine animals.Understanding all of the effects that heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria and other pollutants released by the fire will have on the marine ecosystem “will take a huge, collaborative effort,” said Jenn Cossaboon, a fourth-year student at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who recently finished a doctorate on endocrine disruption in fish.“Species at each level of the food chain, from invertebrates to fish, birds, marine mammals and humans, can be affected differently based on their physiology and feeding strategies,” she said. “It will be very important to connect each of these pieces of the puzzle to really understand the impacts on the food web.”

Food

Health

Water

How Microplastics Get into Our Food

Kitchen items—sponges, blenders, kettles—are abundant sources of microplastics that we all consume

When Amy Lusher moved in with her partner, one of the first things she did was get rid of all the plastic kitchenware in their household and replace it with items made of glass, wood and stainless steel. As a senior researcher in microplastics at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Lusher was acutely aware of how all the chopping, whisking, scraping and heating we do when preparing meals may release tiny particles of plastic into the food we eat. “It’s coming from our cooking. It’s coming from our packaging. It’s in most of our bottles,” she says.By now scientists like Lusher have found microplastics coming off dishwashing sponges, blenders, kettles—you name it. According to one 2024 study, plastic cookware may contribute thousands of microplastic particles each year to homemade food. Old plastic kitchenware was the worst culprit, and the researchers also concluded that microplastic shedding may be exacerbated by heating cookware or using hard or sharp utensils on it.Researchers have been trying for years to determine how many microplastic particles humans ingest when consuming everything from seafood to beer to honey. According to one estimate, every American consumes between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles every year.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Microplastics are tiny—smaller than five millimeters in size. Some are directly manufactured by humans, such as beads in exfoliating scrubs or glitter. Others result from environmental degradation of larger objects, such as plastic bottles or toys. “Microplastics are released in quantities far beyond human imagination,” says Lei Qin, a food scientist at Dalian Polytechnic University in China. By one estimate, 10 to 40 million metric tons of microplastics are released into the environment per year—about two to six times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.They then accumulate inside our body. Studies have found microplastics in human brains (roughly the amount in a heaping teaspoon of table salt), as well as in our stomach, lungs and bones. Researchers have linked microplastics with a higher risk of stroke, inflammatory bowel disease and dementia. “We are at an early stage, but there is growing evidence that exposure to microplastics is linked to inflammation, coronary artery disease and neurodegenerative impairment,” says John Boland, a chemist at Trinity College Dublin. And although scientists have been looking for a while now at how much microplastic we may be ingesting with seafood or tap water, “it’s only really been in the last few years that we’ve started looking at exposure through things that we touch, things that we handle, especially in the kitchen,” Lusher says.To explore what is it exactly that happens with plastics in the kitchen, Lusher and her colleagues from the U.K. and Norway prepared jelly. They used either old or new plastic cookware to heat water, stir the jelly mixture, store it, chill it and cut it into pieces. The result: jelly prepared with new plastic cookware had about nine microplastic particles per sample on average, and jelly made with the old plastic cookware had 16. In other words, when jelly was made with worn-out items, it had 78 percent more microplastics than when it was prepared with new ones. "[Old cookware items] tend to release more plastic, probably because they’ve already become brittle,” Lusher says.Other research also lends evidence that wear and tear generates high levels of microplastic particles. Take cutting boards: in one study, when plastic boards were used to cut meat, up to 196 microplastic particles were incorporated into each ounce of meat, while none were found in meat that had been prepared on a bamboo board. Slicing ingredients and pushing a knife along the board to move them may also be worse than simply pressing with a knife to chop them, another study showed. “It’s the friction, the metal against the plastic,” Lusher says.Friction is also the mechanism by which blenders with plastic jars can release large amounts of microplastics. When scientists in Australia used a blender to crush ice blocks, the way you might when making, say, a frozen margarita, they found that billions of plastic particles were released in just 30 seconds of blending. “If the ice block has a sharp edge, like some hard food, it can peel off lots of plastic,” says Cheng Fang, a chemist at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and the study’s senior author.Scrubbing dishes with a sponge can also release hundreds of tiny plastic particles in just 30 seconds. The good news is that rinsing the dishes well afterward removes most of the residue. The bad news: the sponge microplastics go down the drain and accumulate in the environment, so they may end up in our food anyway.Opening and closing plastic bottles—which also creates friction—can also generate microplastic residues. “You’re shearing off plastic pieces all the time,” Boland says. In fact, according to one study, most microplastics in bottled water originate from twisting the cap. Each time you open and close a plastic bottle, the study found, you produce about 500 microplastic particles.Heating plastic kitchenware is a source of particles as well. Warming it up, like you may do in a microwave, Boland says, “dramatically accelerates the release of microplastics.” In a 2025 study, disposable plastic cups that were filled with scalding 95-degree-Celsius water released 50 percent more microplastics than cups filled with cooler, 50-degree-C water. Plastic kettles, too, could be a problem. The simple act of boiling water in a new kettle will leave you with between six million and eight million microplastic particles per cup, Boland and his colleagues found. Fewer and fewer particles are released with each successive use, however. In their study, after 40 boils in the kettle, only 11 percent of the initial microplastic load leached into the water.While it might be tempting to compare the numbers of microplastics released from various sources side by side, Lusher warns that it would be like comparing “apples to pears.” That’s because, she says, different labs use different methodologies: some count only larger microplastics, and others include nanoplastics (particles smaller than 0.001 mm). Some control for lab microplastic pollution, and others don’t. “If the handling of the data is totally different between each study, then there’s absolutely no point comparing it,” she says.Lusher says that this absence of methodological standards makes it hard to clearly identify the worst microplastic offenders in our kitchens. It still makes sense to “try to reduce the amount of plastic that we are exposed to,” simply because “we still don’t know what the long-term effects will be on health.”There are a few things you can do as well to lower the microplastic load produced in your kitchen. First of all, replace any plastic cutting boards with wooden ones if possible, and if you have a plastic kettle, consider swapping it for a stainless-steel product. (Make sure the lid is not plastic.) Substitute plastic storage containers with glass ones. If you do buy a new plastic kettle, boil and pour out the water in it a couple of times before preparing your first hot drink. And if you use plastic cutting boards, try to make sure they are relatively new.From a broader perspective, we could develop plastics that don’t shed easily into food. “If there are no alternatives, what can you do to the plastic to make it safer?” Boland says. Potentially, for example, manufacturers could create kettles with an inner lining that would prevent microplastic leakage during boiling. (Boland’s experiments suggest that it could be possible.) While such safer products may be technically feasible, he says, substantive change likely won’t happen without regulations that push the industry to make better plastics. “We need the regulators to drive industry to do the right thing,” he says.

Food

Health

Science

California banned polystyrene. So why is it still on store shelves?

Expanded polystyrene foam, the white fluffy plastic in styrofoam, was banned in food service ware on Jan. 1. But shoppers in CA say its still on the shelves.

Styrofoam coffee cups, plates, clamshell takeout containers and other food service items made with expanded polystyrene plastic can still be found in restaurants and on store shelves, despite a ban that went into effect on Jan. 1.A Smart and Final in Redwood City was brimming with foam plates, bowls and cups for sale on Thursday. Want to buy these goods online? It was no problem to log on to Amazon.com to find a variety of foam food ware products — Dart insulated hot/cold foam cups, or Hefty Everyday 10.25” plates — that could be shipped to an address in California. Polystyrene foam is still being sold in the state of California despite a ban that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. (Susanne Rust/Susanne Rust/Los Angeles Times) Same with the restaurant supply shop KaTom, which is based in Kodak, Tenn.Smart and Final and KaTom didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Amazon said the company would look into the matter. The expanded polystyrene ban is part of a single-use plastic law, Senate Bill 54, that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2022 but bailed on earlier this month. And while the full law now sits in limbo, one part remains in effect: A de facto ban on so-called expanded polystyrene, the soft, white, foamy material commonly used for takeout food service items. Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste — one of the many stakeholder organizations that worked with lawmakers to craft SB 54 — said the law had been written in a way that insured the polystyrene ban would go into effect even if the rest of the package failed. “So, it’s still in effect whether or not there are regulations for the rest of the bill,” he said.CalRecycle, the state’s waste agency, is tasked with overseeing and enforcing the law.Asked why styrofoam food service products are still widely available, CalRecycle spokesperson Melanie Turner said in an email that her agency is in the process of identifying businesses producing, selling and distributing the products in the state and considering “ways to help them comply with the law.”SB 54 called for plastic and packaging companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 25% and ensure that 65% of that material is recyclable and 100% either recyclable or compostable — all by 2032. The law also required packaging producers to bear the costs of their products’ end-life (whether via recycling, composting, landfill or export) and figure out how to make it happen — removing that costly burden from consumers and state and local governments.In December, representatives from the plastic, packaging and chemical recycling industry urged the governor to abandon the regulations, suggesting they were unachievable as written and could cost Californians roughly $300 per year to implement — a number that has been hotly contested by environmental groups and lawmakers, who say it doesn’t factor in the money saved by reducing plastic waste in towns, cities and the environment.Their pressure campaign — joined by Rachel Wagoner, the former director of CalRecycle and now the director of the Circular Action Alliance, a coalition for the plastic and packaging industry — worked. Newsom let the deadline for the bill’s finalized rules and regulations pass without implementation and ordered CalRecycle to start the process over. Polystyrene foam is still being sold in the state of California despite a ban that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. (Susanne Rust/Los Angeles Times) However, the bill’s stand-alone styrofoam proviso — which doesn’t require the finalization of rules and regulation — makes clear that producers of expanded polystyrene food service ware “shall not sell, offer for sale, distribute, or import into the state” these plastic products unless the producer can demonstrate recycling rates of no less than 25% on Jan. 1, 2025, 30% by Jan. 1, 2028, 50% by Jan. 1, 2030 and 65% by 2032.And on Jan. 1, that recycling target hadn’t been met and is therefore banned. (Recycling rates for expanded polystyrene range around 1% nationally).Neither CalRecycle or Newsom’s office has issued an acknowledgment of the ban — leaving plastic distributors, sellers, environmental groups, waste haulers and lawmakers uncertain about the state government’s willingness to enforce the law.“I don’t understand why the administration can’t put out a statement saying that,” said Lapis. “At this point, silence from the administration only creates additional legal liability for companies that don’t realize they are breaking the law.”At a state Senate budget hearing on Thursday, lawmakers questioned the directors of CalEPA and CalRecycle about its lack of action regarding the polystyrene ban. CalRecycle is a department within CalEPA.“Why hasn’t Cal Recycle taken steps to implement the provisions of SB 54 that deal with the sale of expanded polystyrene?” Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the sponsor and author of the bill, asked Yana Garcia, the secretary of CalEPA. “You know, the product has not met the strict requirements under SB 54, so there’s now steps that need to be taken to prohibited sale.”Garcia responded that in terms of the messaging around polystyrene, her agency and CalRecycle “possibly need to lean in more there as well, particularly at this moment.”Jan Dell, the founder and president of the Laguna Beach-based environmental group Last Beach Cleanup, said the continued presence of expanded polystyrene on store shelves throughout the state underscores one of the major problems with the law: CalRecycle cannot easily enforce it.This “proves that CalRecycle is incapable of implementing and enforcing the massive scope of SB 54 on all packaging,” she said in an email, suggesting the whole law should be repealed “to save taxpayer money and enable strict bans on the worst plastic pollution items to pass and be implemented.”Turner said via email that the agency could provide “compliance assistance,” initiate investigations and issue notices of violation. According to one state analysis, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic and 171.4 billion single-use plastic components were sold, offered for sale or distributed during 2023 in California.Single-use plastics and plastic waste more broadly are considered a growing environmental and health problem. In recent decades, the accumulation of plastic waste has overwhelmed waterways and oceans, sickened marine life and threatened human health.On March 7, Newsom stopped the landmark plastic waste law from moving forward — rejecting rules and regulations his own staff had written — despite more than two years of effort, negotiation and input from the plastic and packaging industry, as well as environmental organizations, waste haulers and other lawmakers.

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