3M was aware of food contamination by PFAS in 2001

Last week, we learned that the Food and Drug Administration had detected PFAS compounds in cakes with pineapple, sweet potato, meat and chocolate. The presence of industrial compounds in our food was made public by the Environmental Working Group after a member of the Environmental Defense Fund staff took pictures of the research during the event. 39, a scientific conference in Europe.

While the FDA answers questions about why it did not present this information to the public (the agency released the data with a statement Tuesday), it became clear that 3M, the company that had originally developed PFOS and PFOA, had for a very long time that these toxic and persistent chemicals were in our food.

According to a 2001 study commissioned by 3M, 12 food samples from across the country, including ground beef, bread, apples and green beans, were positive for PFOA or PFOS. A piece of bread contained 14,700 parts per billion of PFOA, although the report indicates that the sample was considered "suspect".

The Environmental Protection Agency has been aware of the study for years, but it is unclear whether the FDA was aware of the research. The environmental working group mentioned the 3M study in a 2002 report on PFAS chemicals and alerted the Centers for Disease Control.

On Tuesday, Lawyer Rob Bilott wrote to the FDA asking him "to what extent was the FDA aware of the data collected on behalf of the 3M company in 2001 that confirmed the high levels of PFAS in the US? American food supply ". In 1999, Bilott sued DuPont over PFOA contamination around its plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where the company used the chemical to make Teflon. During his trial, he acquired many documents on the PFAS, which he has since provided to the EPA, the FDA and other federal agencies.

Tuesday's FDA statement said recent tests "have not detected PFAS in the vast majority of foods tested." The statement also states that "based on the best scientific data available to date, the FDA has no indication that these substances are health products concern, in other words, a risk to food safety. in the human diet, at the levels found in this limited sample. "

EPA did not respond to questions about when exactly it became aware of the 3M study. 3M did not respond to a request for comment.

Yet, there is ample evidence that even at very low concentrations, the two chemicals interfere with human immunity, reproduction and development and cause many health problems, including increased cholesterol, thyroid disease and cancer. Virtually everyone has PFAS chemicals in their blood. They enter the body through food, water, dust and exposure to consumer products.

Industrial chemicals enter food in a number of ways, including contaminated groundwater and sewage sludge, which has been spread over the country's crops for decades.

A new study presented this week at a PFAS conference at Northeastern University suggests other effects of chemicals, including an increase in the number of child hospitalizations for Infectious diseases; reduced renal function; and changes in the levels of hormones at birth and during childhood. A study in West Africa on the relationship between PFAS levels and the effect of measles vaccine demonstrated that chemicals interfered with children's immunity and weakened the effects of vaccines. Another study from the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School's School of Medicine found that high levels of PFAS were badociated with high-carbohydrate diets low in fiber, fish, and high-grade meat. in fats.