There is indeed PFAS in our agricultural products. This is the conclusion of a large-scale study by the Agency for Food Safety (FAVV). Animals that walk outside and are therefore not in a stable can be infected through the soil, the research shows. Although the number of places where PFAS has been found appears to be very limited and there is no problem for food safety for the time being.
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Between August and November, around 175 samples of agricultural products were taken throughout Flanders. Think of potatoes, beans, cauliflowers, apples and pears. Animal products such as eggs, cow’s milk and meat from chickens, pigs and cattle were also tested. In the end, the result was good. Especially with vegetable products: there was only found in one sample PFAS, namely on a cauliflower field a low PFOA content was measured.
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We see a different result for animal products. PFAS was measured in 12 samples of the 117 samples. These contaminated samples are geographically spread across Flanders. Remarkably, no PFAS was measured in the samples of cow’s milk, eggs and meat from animals that were kept in the stable during their entire breeding process. However, PFAS was found in eggs from chickens (3 samples), meat from chickens (2) and meat from pigs (2) and meat from cattle (5) that are not kept in stables, and mainly run outside. This means that the animals mainly ingest the toxic substances through the soil.
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There are currently no European or Belgian standards for PFAS in the food chain. That is why the FASFC (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain) uses so-called ‘action limits’, which is a limit value that the Agency uses to make decisions when it is exceeded. According to the FASFC, the action limit was not exceeded in any sample and therefore no safety measures should be imposed.
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The results of the samples are now being passed on to the European Commission, which has to work quickly on PFAS standards for foodstuffs.
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