Senator Cory Booker’s Safe School Meals Act proposes widespread reforms that would reduce the presence of toxic heavy metals, pesticides, artificial food dyes, and chemicals in school lunches, and would mandate research to progress remediation methods for environmental contaminants polluting farms.
A recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) project explored new methods to understand the immunotoxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). At the same time, one Swiss canton has called on Parliament to develop a PFAS action plan after finding widespread contamination on farms, and has banned the sale of beef with high levels of the chemical.
A recent European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) technical report has summarized emerging chemical risks to food safety identified by the agency and its processes for doing so, covering the period 2020–2023.
A recent study found the widespread presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the tissues of fish sourced from various Illinois water bodies.
Pesticide residues were detected in 92 percent of conventionally grown Dutch strawberries, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other toxic chemicals were found in more than two-thirds of samples, according to a recent, small-scale study from Pesticide Action Network Netherlands.
State action on PFAS is ongoing, and many states are currently seeking to adopt new rules for PFAS in food packaging or expand the scope of existing laws
New regulations concerning per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) have impacted the food and beverage industry, but it will take time to replace PFAS with safe substances, as well as to establish comprehensive regulations and enforcement. However, time is running out.
The Center for Food Safety and other stakeholder groups have petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for a ban on the use of PFAS as pesticide ingredients, or as components in pesticide containers.
Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is a highly pervasive type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) in European tap and bottled water and its ubiquitous presence necessitates EU-wide safe drinking water limits, according to a report from Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe).
UC Riverside environmental engineers have discovered bacteria that can destroy certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated drinking water, building upon previous discoveries of and work to understand PFAS-eating microbes.
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recently published limits for PFAS in animal feed that would prevent animal-derived foods from exceeding EU-regulated PFAS maximum levels.
