EU watchdog reduces safe level of exposure to ‘forever chemical’ TFA

ROME – The EU’s food safety agency said July 22 it has dramatically reduced the acceptable daily intake level of the so-called forever chemical TFA, following new evidence of its effect on a key hormone that regulates the body’s metabolism.

The European Commission and member states are expected to use the agency’s decision to update the concentration limits of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in drinking water, where it is widely present.

TFA is formed after substances including pesticides break down and can end up in groundwater, soil and food crops.

The food safety agency EFSA said it has “lowered the acceptable daily intake (ADI) to 0.014mg per kilogram of bodyweight per day, down from the previous value of 0.05“.

That is the amount of TFA that can be consumed daily throughout a lifetime without posing a significant health risk.

The new ADI is about 3.5 times lower than the previous one, it said in a press release.

New evidence showed “among other effects, that TFA changes levels of thyroxine – a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that plays an important role in regulating the body”.

TFA is the smallest and most persistent type of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), often called forever chemicals as they take an extremely long time to break down.

PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals used in everything from nonstick cookware and clothing to industrial manufacturing, and TFA is one of the most widespread and difficult to remove.

EU member states are required to monitor PFAS levels in drinking water, while other monitoring programmes track PFAS levels in food.

The food safety agency, based in Italy, said previous TFA safe levels – set in 2017 – were based on a limited dataset.

Researchers based their analysis on toxicological studies from European countries, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and a large body of evidence from 170 studies and position papers.

They said the evidence suggests TFA is unlikely to be genotoxic, or capable of damaging cellular DNA.

But they flagged several areas which need further research, including the potential of TFA to cause cancer and disrupt the developing immune system.

Hans-Peter Arp, professor of environmental chemistry and PFAS specialist, told AFP that he “would be surprised” if the acceptable daily limit threshold “was not revised downwards in the future”, especially since TFA concentrations in food are set to increase.

France’s ANSES health agency confirmed to AFP that it has been asked by the government to revise the threshold for TFA in drinking water based on the EFSA’s new limit.

Other European countries, such as Denmark or the Netherlands, have already adopted lower thresholds. AFP