United States: The overconsumption of processed meat and butter-rich diets has been found to elevate the amount of PFAS “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream through a peer-reviewed study.
The research indicated various types of food to be among the biggest drivers of elevated PFAS levels, such as tea, pork, candies, sports drinks, processed meats, butter, chips, and bottled water.
Additionally, increased PFAS blood levels were observed in those who consumed more takeaway or food that was prepared at a restaurant.
Hailey Hampson, a University of Southern California doctoral student and the study’s lead author said, “The main takeaway is not to demonize certain foods or say, ‘Oh my gosh, this food is so unhealthy,” and, “The point is to highlight that we need more testing of these foods, and this gives us an avenue to say, “OK, these foods may have higher levels of PFAS so we should do more targeted monitoring of them,'” reported by the Guardian.
What are PFAS chemicals?
PFAS, which is an abbreviation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a group of about 15,000 chemicals used to endow products with properties like resistance to water, stains, and heat.
These chemicals are called “forever chemicals” and they have been shown to lead to cancer, liver problems, thyroid issues, birth defects, kidney disease, decreased immunity, and many other serious health problems.
Contaminated food is the major source – Experts
Despite the fact that exposure to water has been the one that has drawn the most regulatory attention, there is a scientific consensus among experts that contaminated food is the major source of risk.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests food for PFAS annually and has detected minor contamination. However, the agency has been criticized by independent scientists who say its testing methods are flawed and mask the contamination reality that the food is actually less contaminated than it is.
As reported by the Guardian, among the main sources of food contamination are water that is polluted, food wrapped in greaseproof wrappers, PFAS-contaminated plastics, chemicals that are used as pesticides, or fields that are planted with PFAS-tainted sewage sludge as fertilizers.
About the new study
This study examined two cohorts, and it had a combined sample size of more than 700 individuals. One group was examined with regard to consumption and PFAS levels for four years.
Along with the other evidence of food packaging contamination, it was found that people who cook burritos, fajitas, tacos, and pizza at home have lower PFAS levels. However, people who consumed the same foods prepared in restaurants usually had higher PFAS concentrations in their blood.
Hampson said, “It’s really interesting to find that these foods that are maybe not so healthy, when they’re cooked at home were a lower source of PFAS, and that definitely points to food packaging,” reported by The Guardian.
According to the study, butter appears to increase PFAS levels as well. It was found that blood levels of chemicals were lower in people who ate nuts, but nut butter resulted in higher levels.
Hampson said that butter is usually wrapped in greaseproof paper and contamination could also erupt from cows or processing.
Other sources of PFAS contamination
The fact that higher PFAS levels in the blood of people correlate with higher consumption of bottled water might indicate the possibility of plastic packaging contamination or contamination of the water source.
The published notice also brings up the theory that the link between tea and high PFAS may be mostly due to treated tea bags with chemicals, however, further research is required to provide more details.
Even for the least incorporation of processed meats, PFAS blood levels were found to increase.
Hampson said this was not surprising as processing provides openings for chemicals in a myriad of ways and even non-processed cuts of pork showed a strong association. The bacteria in the soil could have contaminated the pigs, reported the Guardian.
Those with a diet high in sugar, fruit drinks, and sweetened beverages showed lower PFAS levels on average and that was a bit more than they anticipated. They assert that the young adults of their cohort drank more PA and fruit drinks than they do, and they may be less polluted with PFAS than either tap or bottled water in general.
The association was one of many where unhealthy foods looked to serve as protective factors against PFAS due to contamination, while certain healthy foods appeared to be increasing PFAS levels.
Jesse Goodrich, a USC researcher and study co-author said, “We need more public health monitoring, especially of healthy foods, to make sure we don’t have unintended chemical exposures in what we know are foods that are healthy in a lot of other ways,” reported the Guardian.