With temperatures across the country climbing into the nineties (and higher), summer is officially in full swing. And while summertime is typically the time to enjoy seafood while hitting the boardwalk along the beach, recent results of testing from FDA may lead some consumers to opt for lunchtime alternatives. In recent months, FDA collected 81 samples of retail seafood and tested them using an LC-MS/MS methodology capable of detecting twenty different PFAS chemicals. The results of this testing identified two samples of canned clams from China with elevated levels of PFOS (20.1 and 19.8 ppb, respectively) that were, according to EPA, “a potential health concern for consumers who eat more than approximately 10 ounces (oz) of these clams per month, except for young children, who should limit consumption to 2 oz per month.” In response, the two retailers of these canned clams issued voluntary recalls of the products “in an abundance of caution” despite no reports of illnesses associated with the consumption of either product. Good luck to those parents of the young children who will dearly miss their favorite Chinese canned clams.
