Determination of Perfluorinated Substances (Pfas) in Certain Foodstuffs According to Newly Established Eu Legislation

Abstract

Abstract Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are compounds which exhibit unique chemical and physical properties resulting in bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Due to a global concern on the adverse health effects, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set tolerable weekly intake and thereafter, to ensure an efficient protection of public health, the European Commission set maximum levels for four priority components, namely perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), in certain foodstuffs. This study demonstrates an analytical method based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry (Orbitrap-MS) for the quantitative determination of four priority PFAS. The optimized and validated LC-Orbitrap-MS method fulfils the requirements specified in the “Guidance Document on Analytical Parameters for the Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Food and Feed” and allows a reliable analysis of PFAS in selected food products, fulfilling the requirements of Commission Regulation 915/2023, Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1428, and Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/1431. The method was successfully used for the compliance testing of four priority PFAS according to the newly established legislation in food samples (n=58) collected in Latvia, providing the occurrence data from the Baltic states.