The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has carried out a new risk assessment of PFAS chemicals in water and food. EFSA wants to sharply lower the limit for how much PFAS substances can be ingested without health risks. Among other things, because they worsen our vaccine response.
– Yes, it is really a lower level, the consultation round led to us being able to do a better evaluation, says Marco Binaglia who heads EFSA’s panel for evaluation.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is now stepping up its previous preliminary risk assessment of PFAS, almost halving the level that it is considered possible to achieve without health effects. An important reason is that research has provided more support for PFAS in the body to impair the effect of vaccinations.
According to EFSA are toddlers particularly exposed to PFAS, they risk ingesting the chemicals during pregnancy and lactation.
According to EFSA, a maximum of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight and week is risk-free of four designated PFAS chemicals, out of several thousand in the large group of long-lived and environmentally damaging chemicals.
In Sweden, there is no limit value for drinking water, but the National Food Administration has so far considered the safe drinking water to contain less than 90 nanograms per liter. With EFSA’s new assessment, this means that a person weighing 60 kilos can drink a maximum of three liters of water a week, with the current standard from the National Food Administration.
There are few water sources in Sweden where such high levels have been measured, but many have not been investigated. This risk assessment probably means that significantly more water sources must be addressed in order to lower PFAS levels in drinking water.
Because the total the amount of PFAS is to be counted, EFSA’s risk assessment may also affect how much we can eat of foods that may contain PFAS – EFSA mentions, for example, fish, eggs and fruit.
EFSA’s proposal will be submitted to the European Commission, which is also working on a new directive on healthy drinking water.
Source: ICELAND NEWS