FDA Testing Finds No Risk from PFAS in Food Samples

FDA provided an update on testing for PFAS in foods.  They sampled 94 items and only one product, cod, had a detectable level, and this level did not represent a human health concern.

So what are PFAS.  Applicable selections from the EPA website:

• "Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects."
• "Although PFOA and PFOS are no longer manufactured in the United States, they are still produced internationally and can be imported into the United States in consumer goods such as carpet, leather and apparel, textiles, paper and packaging, coatings, rubber and plastics."
• "People can be exposed to low levels of PFAS through food, which can become contaminated through:
• Contaminated soil and water used to grow the food,
• Food packaging containing PFAS, and
• Equipment that used PFAS during food processing."
• "People can also be exposed to PFAS chemicals if they are released during normal use, biodegradation, or disposal of consumer products that contain PFAS. People may be exposed to PFAS used in commercially-treated products to make them stain- and water-repellent or nonstick. These goods include carpets, leather and apparel, textiles, paper and packaging materials, and non-stick cookware."
• "Studies indicate that PFOA and PFOS can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Both chemicals have caused tumors in animal studies. The most consistent findings from human epidemiology studies are increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to: infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer (for PFOA), and thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS)."
• "GenX is a trade name for a technology that is used to make high performance fluoropolymers (e.g., some nonstick coatings) without the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). HFPO dimer acid and its ammonium salt are the major chemicals associated with the GenX technology. GenX chemicals have been found in surface water, groundwater, finished drinking water, rainwater, and air emissions in some areas.  As part of EPA’s draft toxicity assessment, EPA has developed draft oral reference doses (RfDs) for GenX chemicals."

FDA Issues Update on Recent Activities Pertaining to PFAS in Food | FDA
FDA Issues Update on Recent Activities Pertaining to PFAS in Food
Constituent Update
June 30, 2021

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing our efforts to better understand the occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the food supply. Today we are sharing updates on our work in this emerging area of science.

Recent Testing Results
Results (PDF: 181KB) from our most recent testing for certain PFAS in foods from the general food supply show that all but one of the 94 food samples did not have detectable levels of PFAS. One sample—cod— had detectable levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), two types of PFAS. Based on the best available current science, the FDA has no indication that the PFAS levels in the cod sample present a human health concern.

The foods tested were collected for the Total Diet Study (TDS) and represent a broad range of foods, including breads, cakes, fruits, dairy, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, and bottled water, that are in the general food supply, which the average consumer might eat, and that were not specifically collected from areas of known environmental PFAS contamination.

The sample sizes for the specific types of foods are limited and therefore cannot be used to draw definitive conclusions. The purpose of testing the TDS samples for PFAS is to better understand the occurrence of PFAS in foods, determine if targeted sampling assignments are necessary for certain foods, and to help inform the agency’s approach to future surveillance efforts.

Seafood Survey
As indicated by the FDA posted data, PFAS was detected in three samples of seafood (one cod and two tilapia) from three TDS regional collections, suggesting a need to better understand PFAS in seafood. Therefore, the FDA is conducting a targeted survey of the most commonly consumed seafood in the U.S. The survey will collect and analyze 80 retail seafood samples including shrimp, salmon, canned tuna, tilapia, pollock, cod, crab, and clams. The PFAS results from this survey will be used to determine if additional sampling, with greater numbers of samples of fish and shellfish, is needed.

Toxicological Reference Values
When the FDA finds detectable levels of a chemical contaminant in food, such as PFAS, the agency conducts a safety assessment to evaluate whether the levels present a possible human health concern and warrant further FDA action. The FDA’s approach considers a number of factors, including whether there is an established action level or tolerance, how much of the specific food people typically eat, the level of the contaminant detected in that food, and the toxicity of the specific contaminant(s). As part of the FDA’s ongoing effort to use the best available current science to assess the safety of exposure to PFAS from foods, the agency monitors the scientific literature and available toxicological reference values for PFAS and updates the values we use in our evaluations as warranted. Recently, the agency began using the finalized minimal risk levels (MRLs) from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s May 2021 Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls, along with a new EPA reference dose, also finalized in 2021, in our evaluations of the safety of exposure to certain PFAS detected in foods.

For More Information
Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Testing Food for PFAS and Assessing Dietary Exposure
Analytical Results of Testing Food for PFAS from Environmental Contamination
Questions and Answers on PFAS in Food