PFAS Testing for Food Manufacturers

In the U.S. and Europe, food manufacturers are preparing for a number of new regulations that target per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of “forever chemicals” that persist in the environment and can harm human health.

Testing for PFAS and tracing them through supply chains and life cycles is a daunting task, but labs are rising to the challenge. New techniques make it possible to identify more PFAS than ever before, with increasing sensitivity and confidence.

Food suppliers should take advantage of new gains in PFAS testing and take the time to understand the substances’ occurrence in supply chains. These actions can help suppliers get ahead of regulations and respond proactively to increasing consumer concerns.

A Brief History of PFAS

The first PFAS were created in the 1930s. These chemicals repel both oil and water and are used in everything from food packaging to firefighting foam, fracking liquid, and consumer products such as lipstick and electronics. Some studies have found that the chemicals can cause cancer, kidney disease, and immune problems, among other ailments, and can persist indefinitely in the environment.

The first and most studied PFAS, perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been mostly phased out from use, but they remain in the environment and in our food systems. In the meantime, thousands of other PFAS compounds have proliferated. For most, there is little toxicity data available and the risks are unknown.

Testing for and analyzing PFAS requires liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) capabilities, which were not available in most labs until the early 2000s. A validated method for testing for PFAS in drinking water was first set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2009. Over the past few years, the EPA also began exploring methods for identifying dozens of PFAS in groundwater, biosolids, and the air.

In January 2023, the European Union proposed the most wide-reaching PFAS regulation yet; it would ban 10,000 PFAS chemicals from use in most products. Whatever shape the final EU regulation takes, this new ban and other similar ones have created a need for more extensive PFAS testing.

In March 2023, the EPA proposed nationwide, legally enforceable limits for six PFAS chemicals in drinking water, and it is currently exploring limits for 23 other PFAS that can be identified and monitored using existing tests. These new standards are much stricter than existing recommendations. Still, drinking water is just one piece of the problem. Food is also a major source of PFAS exposure.

How PFAS Can Enter the Food Supply

A March 2023 study published in the journal Environmental Research found PFAS in freshwater fish in rivers, lakes, and streams across the country (Environ Res. 2023;220:115165). The researchers concluded that catching and eating one fish could be as toxic as drinking contaminated water for a month. Other recent studies have flagged high levels of PFAS in imported clams, dairy milk, and a variety of seafood, with lower levels in just about everything else.

A 2017 study (Enviro Sci Technol Lett. 2017;4:105-111) concluded that food can become contaminated by the chemicals when it touches wrappers or “biodegradable” forks and bowls that are made with them; the study found that people who ate out more had higher levels of PFAS in their blood. As a result, 11 U.S. states have implemented bans on PFAS in food packaging, most of which will go into effect by 2025.

But packaging is only one pathway for food contamination; PFAS are also located in soil and groundwater as a result of industrial uses, in the landfills where consumer products wind up, and even in the air.