The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) recently conducted exploratory sampling of meat, chicken, and Siluriformes fish (catfish) and tested them for 16 different types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate. The most recent sampling program expands on FSIS testing for PFAS residues in fiscal year 2020.

FSIS’ latest findings show that PFAS compounds are rarely detected in meat, poultry, and farm-raised catfish, using detection level of 0.5 nanograms per gram (ng/g) or parts-per-billion or (ppb). Specifically, less than 0.2 percent of beef, chicken, and farm raised catfish, and less than 0.3 percent of pork samples, contained detectable levels of the “forever chemicals.”

Nearly half (48 percent, or 110 of 228 samples) of wild-caught domestic catfish were frequently shown to contain at least one PFAS compound, although at lower levels than other freshwater fish surveyed in the U.S.

The most frequently detected PFAS compound in all samples was perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

For future sampling assignments, FSIS intends to expand its method to include more PFAS compounds and will lower its minimum limit of applicability (MLA). The agency will continue to regularly monitor for PFAS as part of the National Residue Program, and plans to aid state regulatory partners with analyses on a case-by-case basis.

USDA-FSIS published its findings in Food Protection Trends.