Read the full article by Stéphane Mandard (Le Monde)
“Breakfast cereals, bread, pastries, pasta, flour: Cereal-based foods, especially those made with wheat, are heavily contaminated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), the most common of the forever chemicals. A new study published Thursday, December 4, by the Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) reveals that these foods, which are popular with Europeans, are a significant source of exposure to the smallest of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The study was released a day after the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) published a report warning of widespread contamination of drinking water in France by TFA.
As TFA continues to accumulate in the environment, it poses a growing threat to public health: It is on the verge of being classified as toxic to reproduction within the European Union and also shows signs of liver toxicity. Yet, until now, no food safety authority had examined its presence in cereal-based products, even though food is the main route of TFA exposure, surpassing even drinking water. The study conducted by PAN Europe and its member organizations” …