TFA scandal: worrying chemicals in domestic food!

TFA scandal: worrying chemicals in domestic food!

In an alarming study, environmental activists from Global 2000 and the Chamber of Labor in Upper Austria have discovered a concern of chemical called Trifluoracetate (TFA) in common foods such as bread, pasta and other cereal products. These results were announced by the environmental chemist Helmut Burtscher damage during an online press conference. TFA is a degradation product of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds, also known as PFAs, and has enriched itself in the environment in recent years.

The examination included the analysis of 48 different grain products, including breakfast flakes, cookies, flour and entire grains. The results show that all tested products had TFA loads that were three times as high in conventional products as in biologically managed products. The highest measured TFA content was 420 micrograms per kilogram in conventional butter cookies, while biological rye only had 13 micrograms. On average, the tested products showed 119 micrograms TFA per kilogram.

health concerns and TFA deposits

TFA pollution in food represents a potential health risk, especially for children. Global 2000 is supported by the Chamber of Labor, which points out that the TFA values ​​have increased particularly worrying in recent years. The TFA content in food has tripled since 2016. According to Burtscher damage, the daily TFA dose could already exceed the guidelines of the Dutch health authorities in adults and children.

Another alarming aspect is the high persistence of TFA in the environment. The chemical compound is accumulated in both water as well as in the ground and plants. Every year, around 11 tons of TFA get into agriculture, mainly by precipitation, while about 110 tons of Pfas pesticides are applied, which are estimated to release 40 tons of TFA. This increases the need for strict environmental protection.

call to measures

Environmental organizations require the Austrian federal government to implement the immediate implementation of a ban on pesticide products that contain PFAS active ingredients, as well as the support of an EU-wide PFAS group ban. Bayer already informed the EU about serious malformations in fetuses in animal experiments in 2021 and applied for the classification of TFA as "presumably reproductive oxic". The European chemical agency also plans to classify TFA in the category of reproductive -oxic substances.

Despite the serious concerns, environmentalists are also faced with criticism from agriculture and forestry. The interest group of plant protection-producing companies and the Austria Chamber of Agriculture Global 2000 accuse a one-sided campaign against agriculture. It is argued that the results of the study do not adequately take into account the challenges in crop protection and ignore the problem of a nationwide pesticide supply.