FDA confirms that PFAS chemicals are in our food

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The PFAS is a family of nearly 5,000 synthetic chemicals that are extremely persistent in the environment and in our bodies. PFAS is an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and includes chemicals called PFOS, PFOA and GenX, sometimes referred to as eternal chemicals. These chemicals all share fluorine and carbon signature elemental bonds, extremely strong and difficult to break down in the environment or in our bodies.

These chemicals can easily migrate into the air, dust, food, soil and water and can accumulate in the body. They have been associated with adverse health effects including liver damage, thyroid disease, reduced fertility, high cholesterol levels, obesity, hormone suppression and cancer.

In the body, PFAS chemicals are deposited mainly in the blood, kidneys and liver. A 2007 study of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that PFAS chemicals could be detected in the blood of 98% of the US population.

PFAS chemicals have been used by various industries because of their ability to repel oil and water. Manufactured since the 1940s, they are found in non-stick products, dyes, paints, cleaning products, food packaging and fire-fighting foams.

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The results of the FDA's investigation were originally presented by the agency at the 29th annual European meeting of the Society for Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry in Helsinki last month. The images from the FDA's presentation at the meeting were first obtained by the environmental defense group Environmental Defense Fund and published by the Environmental Working Group. The agency confirmed that the images had been produced by the FDA.

The results are now presented on a recently updated FDA website on PFAS, to be published this week. The FDA provided CNN with a preliminary copy of the text of the website.

"… because of potential health issues related to these chemicals, the FDA is working to better understand the potential dietary exposure to PFAS," the website said.

The FDA has tested a dairy farm near a US Air Force base where fire-fighting foams containing PFAS have been used. According to the FDA, the surface water samples tested were tested 35 times more than the health advisories issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US Environmental Protection Agency), namely 70 parts per trillion.

The researchers analyzed 13 samples from the dairy farm, including water, feed and five milk samples. All 13 samples had detectable levels of PFAS with similar chemical structure to that used in fire-fighting foams. The FDA said the samples were "considered to be of concern to human health and all the milk on the farm was discarded".

The FDA noted that even after cows are no longer exposed to PFAS-contaminated water or feed, accumulated chemicals may remain in the cow. Only 30 days to eat and drink contaminated food and water, it would take a year and a half for a cow to rid her system of chemicals.

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The FDA also analyzed product samples from farms located near a PFAS manufacturing plant. The product was sold on local farmers markets. According to the FDA, it is known that the water wells are contaminated by the PFAS called GenX. Of the 20 product samples tested, 16 were leafy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, kale and green cabbage. Of these, 15 showed detectable levels of PFAS. According to the FDA, "it was determined that the samples did not pose any health problems".

The agency also tested 91 food samples collected as part of the FDA's 2017 study on total food. The study is an ongoing FDA program that monitors about 800 contaminants and nutrients that are part of the average diet of the United States. As part of this program, the FDA's Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Center purchases, prepares and analyzes approximately 280 different foods and beverages across the country four times a year.

According to the website provided to CNN, 10 of the 91 foods tested had detectable levels of PFAS, but at levels not considered to be of concern to human health.

Agency PFAS Response

PFOS and PFOA are the two most studied PFAS chemicals and have been identified as emerging contaminants by the EPA.
In the United States, 3M, its main manufacturer, has voluntarily stopped producing PFOS. Since 2006, the PFOA has also begun to disappear. PFOA and PFOS are no longer manufactured or imported in the United States, but similar alternative chemicals, such as GenX, remain.
In April of this year, EPA announced a new PFAS plan, which included setting a maximum containment level for PFOS and PFOA.

The FDA said it was committed to better understanding the role of PFAS in foods. The website says it has set up an internal working group this year to evaluate this problem and is working with state partners to create more local testing labs.

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