FDA releases new data on PFAS levels in food, adding to a growing research on contaminant

The FDA this month has released research on the level of PFAS found in various food items — from meat and fish to vegetables and milk.

The research is part of the FDA’s Total Diet Study, or TDS, which monitors levels of nutrients and contaminants in food. It adds to existing caches of data about PFAS.

The latest collection, from 2024, tested 542 samples of salmon, kale, chicken breast and other items. More than 92% had no detectable levels of PFAS, just over 7% had trace amounts. And 4 of the 39 samples of shrimp, clams, tilapia and catfish had more significant levels.

The agency says this kind of testing is ongoing to better understand average exposure to the chemicals and prioritize future monitoring. It also notes that 95% of the fresh and processed foods tested for PFAS since sample collection began in 2019 did not detect the chemicals.

“TDS data can show how much contamination is present and help estimate possible exposure, but they should not be used on their own to decide whether something is safe or harmful to health,” the agency said.

Watchdog organization Environmental Working Group said the FDA should use the data to set enforceable limits on PFAS in food and ban the use of pesticides that use the chemical.

“The FDA cannot afford to wait one more day to set action levels for PFAS in our food, as other nations have done,” Scott Faber, the group’s senior vice president for government affairs, said in a statement. “For millions of Americans, our food, not our water, is the primary route of exposure to PFAS. Federal action is urgent and long overdue.”

PFAS are a group of thousands of human-made chemicals that are widely used in consumer and industrial products. They don't break down naturally and have been tied to certain health problems like cancer.

The EPA rolled out the first-ever federally enforceable limits on the chemicals in drinking water under the Biden administration, though some of those limits are now being reconsidered under the Trump administration.