RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND the toxic ‘forever chemical’ TFA in foods purchased across Europe, with breakfast cereals bought in Ireland among the worst offenders.

Pesticide Action Network, an environmental NGO, tested cereal products such as bread and pasta for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) – something that has not been done to date by food safety authorities.

TFA is one of a man-made class of substances called Pfas, also known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they are so persistent in the environment. That means they take a really long time to break down, accumulating in the food chain and water.

With information on the human health impacts of TFA beginning to emerge, European regulators are current working on a proposal to formally classify TFA as presumed toxic to human reproduction. That would pave the way for far more stringent controls of pesticides and other sources of the chemical.

Some of the highest levels of TFA detected by Pesticide Action Network were in breakfast cereals purchased in Ireland.

The NGO told The Journal high levels of TFA were found in some wheat-based breakfast cereals bought in Irish supermarkets. TFA was not detected in a popular brand of Irish porridge oats that was also tested.

“These supermarket breakfast cereals really seem to be a problem,” the NGO said.

The researchers looked at cereal products – 66 in total – because scientific studies suggest wheat is particularly efficient at absorbing and accumulating forever chemicals, especially TFA.

Wholemeal bread purchased in Belgium and Germany, and baguettes and croissants bought in France were also found to have high levels of TFA.

The researchers concluded food is likely to be a significant source of human exposure to forever chemicals – more so even than water, about which there has already been significant concern. American actor Mark Ruffalo has been campaigning for many years against Pfas.

The findings show TFA contamination of Europe’s food supply is “already well underway”, Pesticide Action Network said.

The continued use of Pfas pesticides is directly contributing to human exposure, it said.

It called for an immediate ban on Pfas pesticides, which it said are directly contributing to human exposure, and other sources of TFA. It also urged EU authorities to commence monitoring of TFA in food and water, and to establish a strict safety limit on acceptable levels of TFA in food.

A European Chemicals Agency dossier from earlier this year on the health and environmental impacts of TFA stated that the scientific literature on TFA presents “clear evidence of developmental toxicity” based on studies on mammal foetuses.

These studies identified eye and skeletal malformations in rabbits, and impaired liver and kidney function in early development in rats, among other effects.

CropLife, the European pesticide industry lobby, said in response that available risk assessments to date indicate “no toxicological concern from TFA found in the environment under realistic conditions of exposure”. 

The pesticide industry called for a “risk-based approach” to regulating TFA. It particularly opposes any precautionary measures being taken by national governments in advance of the current EU regulatory assessment being completed.

The industry has also argued that pesticides that form TFA are already subject to “thorough evaluation and regulation” under EU rules.