Hofmann

"We were able to put severe constrains on the origin of these cosmic electrons with our detailed analysis for the first time," adds Prof. Hofmann from the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, co-author of the study.

"There they can be taken-up by plants and thus also reach humans," adds Thilo Hofmann, head of the research group.

According to Thilo Hofmann, the study shows clear results: "While the concentrations and daily intake are fortunately relatively low, additives from car tires are still found in food. That's not where they belong."

According to Hofmann, the next steps should now be to investigate the environmental and human health aspects.

"We examined real samples from supermarkets in Switzerland and field vegetables from Israel," says Thilo Hofmann, explaining the background to the study published last week.