Read the full article by Jennifer McLogan (CBS News).
“A new study shows toxic forever chemicals known as PFAS may be entering the food chain on Long Island through contaminated soil, water and air.
PFAS have leached into our food from packaging and cookware. Now the risk may also be reaching our crops themselves.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) conducted the study, along with Stony Brook University and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), in August 2025.
They said they purchased a total of 23 items of produce from eight farms on the North Fork and South Fork, including six conventional farms that use pesticides and two organic farms. The farms were not named in the study.
The produce included carrots, romaine lettuce, Boston lettuce and beets. The vegetables were frozen the day they were collected and tested for PFAS at Stony Brook labs. Testing revealed some high levels of PFAS, which have been linked to cancer.
‘I will stand behind our produce,’ said Bill Zalakar, with the Long Island Farm Bureau.
The bureau wants answers to protect our food chain.”…