The FDA is researching contamination of food products by PFAS chemicals.
A public health watch dog warns that the presence of “forever chemicals” in foods recently tested by the Food and Drug Administration should be treated with alarm.
Kyla Bennett, science policy adviser for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said the FDA and the EPA should “err on the side of caution” with such substances.
“Look how long it took for the government to say that smoking was dangerous, or asbestos, or lead,” Bennett told FDA Health News. “I’m always of the mind to use precautionary principle.”
Samples taken by FDA officials found that PFAS — a manmade chemical impermeable to grease, water and soil — was present in groundwater and soil and in certain produce, grains, meats and dairy products across the U.S., according to a statement released by the agency.
The FDA made a statement on their findings on June 4 after the activist organization Environmental Working Group made the revelations from the FDA study public, inciting several media stories.
In 2018, according to the FDA release, tests from a dairy farm with known PFAS contamination in the groundwater found the milk “was determined to be a human health concern and all milk from the farm was discarded.”
The gradual accumulation of certain PFAS, according to the FDA, can cause “serious health conditions.”
Bennett said such adverse health effects include kidney and thyroid issues, along with immune response irregularities.
In the face of such threats, she said, all the goverrment agencies involved with PFAS monitoring — the FDA, EPA and the CDC — should have a greater sense of urgency.
“Instead of addressing this head on and talking about it like the crisis that it really is, they just keep coming out with these half-backed, limited studies,” she said.
This year, 14 out of 91 produce, meat, dairy, and grain products samples analyzed by the FDA had detectable levels of PFAS. In this case, the samples with PFAS were determined not to be a health concern,.
The samples had originally been collected in 2017 as part of the Total Diet Study, described as “an ongoing FDA program that monitors levels of about 800 contaminants and nutrients in the average U.S. diet.”
In the face of testing, FDA officials reiterate that “most foods have no or very low levels of PFAS.” The FDA did note that the organization is working to better understand the chemicals.
“Measuring PFAS concentrations in food, estimating dietary exposure and determining the associated health effects is an emerging area of science,” the release stated. “FDA scientists are at the forefront of developing new and more precise testing methods to measure PFAS concentrations in foods and we are working with states to build capacity for local testing laboratories.”
This year, the FDA has formed a work group to collaborate with government officials, industry professionals, and consumers on their ongoing PFAS studies.
Bennett said officials should go even further, and take PFAS off the consumer market. The chemical can be found in everything from food packaging and cookware to carpeting and cleaning products.
“The government should ban all of these chemicals except for ones that they absolutely need like firefighting foam in certain instances,” she said. “For things like the inside of microwave popcorn bags or bakery items or dental floss? Just stop.”
