To understand the potential dietary exposure to PFAS from food, the FDA has been testing foods most commonly eaten by people in the United States. Beginning in 2019, the FDA has analyzed multiple collections of samples from the Total Diet Study—which the FDA uses to monitor the levels of both nutrients and contaminants in food.

Last week, the FDA released the fifth dataset of analytical results for its testing for PFAS in food. The FDA detected PFAS in 3 of the 92 samples (tilapia, cod, and shrimp). For those keeping score at home, that brings the total up to 10 samples testing positive for PFAS out of 532 across all five datasets. The FDA also cautions: “The sample sizes are limited; therefore, these results cannot be used to draw definitive conclusions about the levels of PFAS in the general food supply.”

At the same time, the FDA is continuing to refine its PFAS testing method. FDA announced that it intends to post an extended method which includes 4 additional types of PFAS in Spring/Summer 2022. The method previously accounted for 16 types of PFAS.