Report from the Swedish Food Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on TFA Exposure from Food
Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an ultrashort-chain PFAS characterized by high persistence, substantial environmental mobility, and increasing global prevalence, raising concerns from both environmental and health perspectives. The present report analyzes concentrations of TFA and other ultrashort-chain PFAS in food within the framework of the Swedish Food Agency’s (SLV) 2022 total diet study, which reflects average Swedish consumption patterns and enables estimation of dietary exposure. TFA can be formed through degradation processes, for example from so-called “PFAS pesticides” and refrigerants in the atmosphere, and has the ability to be taken up by plants, making food a potentially important exposure pathway. Staff from the Eurofins European PFAS Competence Centre are co-authors of the report, and all analyses were performed at Eurofins. The objective is to quantify concentrations in different food groups and to estimate per capita intake in relation to health-based guidance values.
The results show that TFA was detected in the majority of analyzed food groups and at the highest concentrations among the investigated ultrashort-chain PFAS, particularly in cereals and baked goods, followed by potatoes, fruit, and vegetables. The total estimated per capita intake from food amounted to approximately 24,110 ng/person per day, corresponding to 344 ng/kg body weight per day for an adult individual. The largest contributions to exposure originated from cereals, followed by vegetables, fruit, and potatoes, while animal-based foods and beverages generally contributed less. This average intake corresponds to approximately 1.1% of the proposed acceptable daily intake (ADI; 30 µg/kg body weight/day) from EFSA, indicating currently limited exposure. Drinking water may contribute an additional approximately 0.1% based on mean values from a 2023 Eurofins study. However, the report emphasizes that these estimates represent average values and that individuals with high consumption of certain foods may have substantially higher exposure.
