According to a new scientific opinion issued by EFSA on Thursday 17 September, the population group that is most exposed to PFAS in their diet are children, and exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding is the main contributor to the intake of PFAS in newborn babies.
This opinion is the result of a new assessment of the risks posed to human health by the presence in food of these extremely worrying man-made chemical substances that accumulate in the body (see EUROPE 12517/13, 12366/13).
The four major PFAS - perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) - were assessed.
Whereas in 2018 EFSA believed that the main critical effect for human health was increased cholesterol, on this occasion the experts concluded that the most critical effect was the decrease in the immune system’s response to vaccination.
Consequently, EFSA has established a new tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for PFAS of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram body weight.
The 2018 opinion created separate TWIs for PFOS and PFOA. EFSA reassessed these substances in the light of the latest scientific knowledge and its guidance document on assessing exposure to a number of chemicals.
This opinion may help the Commission and the Member States in their role as risk managers. The EU strategy ‘Chemicals for Sustainability’ is expected to be presented on 14 October. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)