A new study has found widespread contamination of cereal foods across Europe with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a toxic “forever chemical” that forms when pesticides containing PFAS break down in soil. The research, conducted by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN), revealed that breakfast cereals contained the highest concentrations — on average 100 times greater than levels typically found in tap water.
TFA was detected in 81.5% of 65 cereal items sampled from 16 European countries, marking the first EU-wide assessment of its presence in food. Products affected ranged from breakfast cereal and bread to pasta, croissants, scones and gingerbread. Wheat-based goods showed the greatest contamination, with the highest levels in Irish cereal, followed by Belgian and German wholemeal bread, and French baguettes.
PFAS — used in industry and consumer goods since the 1950s — are known as “forever chemicals” because they degrade extremely slowly, meaning that once they enter soil or water they can persist for centuries. Research has linked TFA exposure to reproductive harm, reduced fertility, foetal development issues, and potential damage to the liver, thyroid, and immune system.
Campaigners say the findings highlight the urgent need for tighter regulation. PAN Europe urged governments to ban PFAS-based pesticides entirely and introduce strict safety limits for TFA in food, noting that governments currently do not monitor it.
Though the UK was not included in the study, the issue is highly relevant there too — 27 PFAS pesticide ingredients are still authorised for use in the country, six of which are classed as highly hazardous.
“All people are exposed to TFA through food and water,” said Salomé Roynel of PAN Europe. “We cannot expose children to reprotoxic chemicals — this demands immediate action.”
