The European Commission has set maximum levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain foods. Companies won’t be allowed to sell foods that contain more PFAS after January 1, 2023, when the regulation will take effect. Foods may be sold until the date of their minimum durability or use-by date if they were legitimately placed on the market before January 1, 2023.

In order to update Regulation (EC) 1881/2006, Regulation (EC) 2022/2388 specifies the maximum limits. The legislation is focused primarily on the limits for the PFASs perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), which have been widely utilized for commercial and industrial reasons.

According to a scientific opinion published in July 2020 by the European Food Safety Authority, PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS can have negative effects on development and may also have negative effects on serum cholesterol, the liver, the immune system, and birth weight, The EFSA set a group tolerated weekly intake (TWI) for the combined amounts of PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per week since it deemed the effects of PFAS on the immune system to be the most important.

The EU population’s exposure to PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS exceeds the calculated TWI, according to the EFSA. The use of PFAS in products that come into contact with food and the bioaccumulation of the chemicals in the environment have increased human exposure to the chemicals.