EU food safety agency cuts safe daily intake level for TFA

The EU's food safety agency said it has sharply lowered the acceptable daily intake level for trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, after new evidence about the chemical's effect on thyroxine, a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that helps regulate the body.

The European Food Safety Authority said it reduced the acceptable daily intake to 0.014 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day, from 0.05. The agency described this as the amount that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without posing a significant health risk. It said the new level is about 3.5 times lower than the previous one.

The European Commission and EU member states are expected to use the decision to update concentration limits for TFA in drinking water, where the chemical is widely present. TFA can form when substances including pesticides break down and can end up in groundwater, soil and food crops.

TFA is the smallest and most persistent type of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance, known as PFAS. These synthetic chemicals are often called forever chemicals because they break down extremely slowly. PFAS are used in products and sectors including nonstick cookware, clothing and industrial manufacturing. TFA is described in the report as among the most widespread and difficult to remove.

EU member states must monitor PFAS levels in drinking water, and other monitoring programmes track PFAS in food. EFSA, which is based in Italy, said the earlier TFA level set in 2017 was based on limited data.

Researchers based their assessment on toxicological studies from European countries, the European Chemicals Agency and a body of evidence including 170 studies and position papers. They said the evidence suggests TFA is unlikely to be genotoxic, meaning capable of damaging cellular DNA. They also identified areas needing more research, including whether TFA can cause cancer or disrupt the developing immune system.

Hans-Peter Arp, a professor of environmental chemistry and PFAS specialist, said he would be surprised if the acceptable daily limit were not lowered again in the future, especially because TFA concentrations in food are expected to rise.

France's ANSES health agency said it had been asked by the government to revise the threshold for TFA in drinking water based on EFSA's new limit. The report said Denmark and the Netherlands have already adopted lower thresholds.