PFAS Testing for Food

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemical compounds characterized by the replacement of most of the hydrogen atoms with fluorine atoms that gives them particular physical–chemical characteristics such as water and oil repellence and stability at high temperatures.

These substances - which include PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS - are highly versatile and used in industrial and consumer applications. They are present in large quantities in the agricultural sector, in food packaging, in personal care products (cosmetics), textiles and various consumer products.

The widespread use of these substances, together with their resistance to natural degradation processes, leads to a high degree of environmental contamination. They easily penetrate into the aquifers becoming widely present in the water environment and consequently in agricultural products and food.

Several studies have shown their danger to human health, in particular, that they are recognized as endocrine disruptors capable of altering the body’s processes involving hormones responsible for development, fertility and other essential cellular functions. Exposure can occur in various ways, including foods where these substances are most frequently present such as drinking water, fish, fruit, eggs and egg products, or even through food packaging or equipment used for food processing.

PFAS Analysis 

Neotron can perform the analysis of perfluoroalkyl substances by LC-MS/MS technique. The following analytes are accredited & performed in compliance with Commission Regulation (EC) 2022/2388 for those matrices included in the Regulation*:

• Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS

*This includes eggs, fish meat, fish meat for the production of food for infants and young children, crustaceans and bivalve molluscs, meat, and edible offal.