Deteksi Kandungan Mikroplastik pada Teh Celup Kemasan Produk Komersial Saat Preparasi Siap Seduh dan Pemanfaatannya sebagai Book Chapter

Abstract

Indonesia is among the top ten tea-consuming countries in the world, with national tea consumption reaching 94 million kg in 2018. Tea bags made from synthetic polymers have become increasingly popular, yet their potential to release microplastics during brewing poses an underrecognized health risk. This study aims to detect and characterize microplastic contamination released from three commercial tea bag variants during the brewing process, to analyze the effect of brewing treatment and variant on microplastic release, and to evaluate the feasibility of a book chapter produced from this research. Characterization was conducted using microscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, with brewing simulation performed using hot aquadest at 80°C. Results showed that each variant uses a different polymer: Polyethylene Terephthalate for Dbt, Nylon for Dj, and Polypropylene for Dv. A total of 272 microplastic particles were detected, all in fiber form, predominantly smaller than 1,000 µm in size (70.2%), and mostly black in color (55.5%). Analysis of Covariance showed that brewing treatment significantly affected microplastic release (F = 11.537; p = 0.014), with a significant interaction between treatment and variant (F = 6.057; p = 0.000). The Dv variant exhibited the highest release with a mean of 9.89 particles per bag. The book chapter was validated as highly valid by a material expert (86.6%), media expert (85.3%), and users (89.52%), with an overall mean of 87.14%. It is concluded that all three variants release microplastics during brewing, with brewing treatment and its interaction with variant as the determining factors