New EU maximum levels of Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain foodstuffs
ContaminantsLast 8th December 2022, the Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2388 of 7 December 2022 was published amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of perfluoroalkyl substances in certain foodstuffs.
Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are chemical pollutants that are harmful to human health, and mainly ingested via water and food. Normally, the contamination of food with these substances is the result of bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food chains, and of the use of food contact materials containing PFAS.
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and their salts are the PFAS found in food and in humans in the highest concentration and have been widely used industrially due to their chemical and thermal stability. These substances are very persistent in the environment. Although they are no longer used, bioaccumulation has occurred in aquatic and terrestrial environments, contributing to human exposure to these pollutants.
On 9 July 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adopted an opinion on the risk to human health related to the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances in food. EFSA concluded that PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS can cause developmental effects and may have adverse effects on serum cholesterol, the liver and the immune system and birth weight. It considered the effects on the immune system as the most critical effect and it established a group tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 4,4 ng/kg body weight per week for the sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS, which is also protective against the other effects of those substances. It concluded that the exposure of parts of the European population to those substances exceeds the TWI, which is of concern.
With this new Regulation maximum levels are set for perfluoroalkylated substances in certain products of animal origin (eggs, fishery products, fish meat intended for the production of food for infants and young children and other fish meat, crustaceans, bivalve molluscs, meat and edible offal of bovine animals, sheep, pig and poultry and game animals).
This Regulation shall apply from 1 January 2023. Foodstuffs lawfully placed on the market before this data, may remain on the market until their date of minimum durability or use-by date.
Additionally, on 26 August 2022, the EC published Recommendation (EU) 2022/1431 on the monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances in certain foodstuffs, recommending Member States to monitor during the years 2022-2025 the presence of PFAS in food, in food, especially in: fruits, vegetables, starchy roots and tubers, seaweed, cereals, nuts, oilseeds, food for infants and young children, foods of animal origin, non-alcoholic drinks, wine and beer. (More information)
At Mérieux NutriSciences, we have extensive experience in PFAS analysis and collaborate in various working groups dealing with technical aspects: equipment, limits and controlled molecules.
Thanks to our R&D team and the collaboration of our chemistry experts, we developed an analytical method which can detect and quantify a list of 29 PFAS molecules, using LC-MS/MS. Our laboratory is able to reach limits of quantification up to 1 ppt, in full compliance with the recent Regulation and with the monitoring requirements of the Recommendation.
The method is validated and accredited in food matrices (including eggs, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables), baby food, food supplements and animal feed.
(*) Click here to see our complete Scopes of ISO17025 accreditations: Italy
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