(1)

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were and some of them still are widely used in industrial and consumer applications including stain-resistant coatings for fabrics and carpets, oil-resistant coatings for paper and board food contact materials, firefighting foams, mining and oil well surfactants, floor polishes and insecticide formulations. Their widespread use, together with their persistency in the environment has resulted in a widespread environmental contamination. Contamination of food with these substances is mainly the result of bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food chains, and of the use of food contact materials containing PFASs. Perfluoroctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and their salts are the PFASs which are found in food and in humans in the highest concentrations.

(2)

The European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) therefore asked its Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain to prepare an opinion on the importance of food and the relative contribution of the different foodstuffs and food contact materials to the human exposure to PFOS, PFOA and their salts and to advise on further steps in relation to the risk assessment of PFASs.

(3)

The Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain adopted a scientific opinion on PFOS, PFOA and their salts on 21 February 2008 (1), stating that further data on PFASs levels in food and in humans would be recommended, particularly with respect to monitoring trends in human exposure.

(4)

Additional occurrence data on various PFASs in food were gathered under Commission Recommendation 2010/161/EU (2).

(5)

In 2020, at the request of the Commission, the Authority updated its risk assessment of PFOS and PFOA and extended it to perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), taking into account the most recent scientific information and the occurrence data gathered under Recommendation 2010/161/EU. In its opinion on the risk to human health related to perfluoroalkyl substances (3), it concluded that parts of the European population exceed the tolerable weekly intake. However, the Authority noted that a representative set of occurrence data are still lacking for many foods and, therefore, recommended to gather such data for a wide range PFASs in a broad range of widely consumed foods. Furthermore, since the measured concentrations of PFASs in certain foods were only obtained with very sensitive analytical methods, which are currently not achievable for the majority of the laboratories, it recommended to implement sensitive analytical methods for the analyses of PFASs.

(6)

In light of the opinion by the Authority, occurrence data for a wide range of PFASs should be gathered in foods which are relevant for the human exposure to PFASs in order to support a dietary exposure assessment and assess the need to regulate these substances in specific commodities. To this end, specific foods from specific production types or with specific characteristics, for which data are lacking, should be monitored and an estimate of the processing factors for various processed products provided.

(7)

Follow-up investigations towards the sources of contamination are required to allow the implementation of follow-up measures to avoid the occurrence of PFASs in food. In order to provide guidance in this regard, it is appropriate to set indicative levels of concentrations of PFASs in food. Those levels should not affect the possibility to place on the market any food, but investigations should be carried out when the concentration of PFASs in a foodstuff exceeds those levels. In order to quantify concentrations of PFASs in the quantities in which they occur, sufficiently sensitive methods should be used. This should be encouraged by recommending target limits of quantification.

(8)

Food of animal origin is an important contributor to the human exposure to PFASs. The Authority concluded that PFASs transfer from feed to animal derived food, with clear differences between species and the type of PFASs. Such PFASs transfer may also occur from soil ingested by foraging farm animals and from drinking water for animals. Therefore, for the follow-up investigations aiming at determining the causes of contamination, where the maximum levels of PFASs in food of animal origin set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (4) are exceeded, it is important that laboratories are able to also control feed, animal drinking water and the soil on which animals live. However, only few data are currently available concerning the occurrence of PFASs in Union feed and allowing to study feed as a source of PFASs in food of animal origin. As only a limited number of laboratories is able to analyse PFASs in feed, further work is being undertaken by the European Reference Laboratory for halogenated persistent organic pollutants in feed and food, to help the laboratories to develop such capability. While that work should allow for the adoption in the future of further recommendations concerning PFASs in feed, once there is a sufficient analytical capability among the laboratories, in the meanwhile, those Member States, whose laboratories are already able to analyse PFASs in feed, should be recommended to already do so and, in those Member States which do not have the required analytical capability yet, the laboratories should already validate analytical methods for PFASs in feed.

(9)

In order to ensure that the samples are representative for the sampled lot, the sampling procedures as laid down in the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1428 (5) laying down methods of sampling and analysis for the control of perfluoroalkyl substances in certain foodstuffs should be followed,

1.

Member States should test for the presence in food of the following PFASs:

Member States should, if possible, test also for the presence of compounds which are similar to PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS, but have a different alkyl chain and with relevant occurrence in food, drinking water and/or human serum such as:

Member States should also consider testing for the presence in food of emerging PFASs, such as:

2.

Data should be collected for the following range of production types or product characteristics:

Only the edible portion of the foodstuffs should be analysed. Fruits, vegetables, starchy roots and tubers should be washed prior to sampling, while ensuring not to introduce additional PFASs contaminations via the washing water. Food for infants and young children should be analysed dry or liquid, as marketed.

Data should be collected for foods produced in non-polluted regions, but also data from foods from polluted regions may be reported, provided that this is clearly indicated, when reporting the data to the Authority.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Member States which use methods which cannot achieve these limits of quantification may submit results obtained with methods with higher limits of quantification. However, those Member States should take the necessary action to achieve the target limits of quantification as soon as possible.

7.

8.