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PFAS Analyser >> News about PFAS >> 2022-12-20: Limit values for PFAS levels in food have been decided by the European Commission

2022-12-20: Limit values for PFAS levels in food have been decided by the European Commission

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2022-12-20: Limit values for PFAS levels in food have been decided by the European Commission

Limit values ​​for PFAS levels in food have now been decided by the European Commission and apply to animal foods such as meat, fish, crustaceans and eggs (change (EU) 2022/2388, regulation (EC) no. 1881/2006). When the limit values ​​come into force on 1 January 2023, food containing more PFAS than the limit value may not be sold. There is already a limit value for drinking water and the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) assesses that many people in Europe are ingesting too much PFAS from water and various foods.

The companies are responsible for ensuring that the limit values ​​are not exceeded in their food. Authorities that control food companies can decide that food should be removed from the market if it contains more PFAS than the limit value. In total, the regulation contains limits for four individual PFAS and the sum of these (PFAS4). The substances are the same as the Efsa 2020 calculated a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for, and consist of PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFNA.

Eurofins PFAS analysis

We have a long experience in analysing PFAS and introduced in 2020 and new method for PFAS in food with leading reporting limits (LOQ). In recent years, we have investigated occurrence in various foods, e.g. fish, shellfish and baby food. We also carried out the attention-grabbing study of crayfish for Testfakta, which showed that Swedish crayfish can exceed specified maximum levels. Our own analysis have also shown that lake fish (salmon) and salmon from the Baltic Sea can show concentrations that mean they may not be used for baby food according to the new rules. A further aspect is that PFAS4 is only a part of all PFAS that can be determined, and the percentage can vary between 0-100%. For fish, PFAS often make up less than 50% and apart from PFAS4, bioaccumulating long PFAS (C10-C14) can be important. Also, levels of precursors such as PFOSA should not be overlooked in some samples.

Read more about the limit values ​​for food and for water:

Food (EU regulation)

If you need help and want to discuss how you can start the analysis of PFAS in your food and drinking water, contact IE03_SalesFood@eurofins.ie