We sent our local grocery store kale to be tested for PFAS, hoping to confirm what the FDA states on their website as of May 31, 2023, “we have found that most foods not grown or produced in specific geographic areas with known PFAS contamination do not have detectable levels of PFAS.”
Yet when ANH staff received the results of testing for PFAS in our kale, we saw that seven of the eight kale samples were contaminated with PFAS. The FDA’s routine monitoring between 2019 and 2021, which has so far only included analysis of 4 kale samples, has never found PFAS in any vegetable or other plant food. On its webpage, Questions and Answers on PFAS in Food, the FDA states, “To date, we have found that most foods not grown or produced in specific geographic areas with known PFAS contamination do not have detectable levels of PFAS.”
Our testing directly contradicts the FDA’s complacent attitude when it comes to PFAS contamination of our food supply, leaving serious questions about the agency’s assessment of the safety of our food.
The unfortunate truth is that the FDA and EPA – the very agencies that are charged with protecting our health and our environment – have largely turned a blind eye to the chemical companies that have spent decades hiding the horrific truth about the dangers PFAS chemicals as they continued to contaminate our environment, drinking water, soil, and our food. As a result of this decades-long coverup, we still don’t know the full extent of how bad PFAS are for us, but from the little we do know, it is clear that PFAS are killing Americans. As our report details, studies show that PFAS exposure is linked to an enormous number of frightening health effects, including:
· Infertility, birth defects, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), low birth weight
· Developmental delays in children, including accelerated puberty, bone variations, behavioral changes and childhood obesity
· Cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, breast, testicular, prostate, liver and kidney cancers)
· Ulcerative colitis
· Decreased immune system response to infections
· Hormone interference, thyroid disease
· Obesity, increased cholesterol
So, what does this mean for you? We at ANH believe that, as a result of decades of chemical companies’ careless use of PFAS, it is now pervasive in our food, water, and environment.
U.S. regulatory agencies have proven themselves incapable or unwilling to meaningfully address the extensive PFAS contamination, and the piecemeal approach of individual state policies is positive, but it is not enough. We need to create a groundswell of grassroots support for a ban on PFAS chemicals as soon as possible.
Action Alert! Write to Congress, the EPA, FDA, and state legislators urging immediate action to ban PFAS chemicals. Please send your message immediately.
https://www.votervoice.net/ANHUSA/Campaigns/106262/Respond
Editor: Additional PFAS information: https://www.militarypoisons.org/