Evidence of PFAS in organic pasta sauces
Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and
community Mamavation tested 55 sauces and found
levels of fluorine ranging from 10 parts per million (ppm) up to 21 ppm in four
of the sauces: 365 Whole Foods Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, Muir Glen
Organic Italian Herb Pasta Sauce, Organicville Italian Herb Pasta Sauce, and
Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Basil Marinara.
EHN.org partially funded the testing and Pete Myers, chief
scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, which publishes Environmental
Health News, reviewed the findings.
While the testing doesn’t prove per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are in the sauces, fluorine is a strong indicator of the “forever chemicals”— which have been linked to everything from cancer to birth defects to lower vaccine effectiveness.
PFAS in our food
The new investigation is the latest from Mamavation,
which previously found fluorine in everyday products such as yoga pants and leggings and clean beauty brands' makeup.
PFAS has been found in food before: The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration in 2019 reported PFAS in
several types of food, including meats, seafood, and grocery store chocolate
cake.
However, Mamavation found evidence of the chemicals in brands that are marketed as organic. It's unclear how PFAS make it into certain foods, but due to widespread use of PFAS across industries, the chemicals can contaminate consumer goods though manufacturing lubricants and coatings, misidentified raw materials, pesticides, personal protective equipment, and plastic packaging.
Ongoing PFAS testing
While the testing is concerning, 92% of sauces tested had no
detectable fluorine.
“The good news is that only 8% of the tomato and pasta sauces
contained PFAS. But why should there be any in our food?” Linda Birnbaum, who
served as the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS) and National Toxicology Program for more than a decade and who
also reviewed the investigation, told Mamavation.
The testing is part of an ongoing effort by Mamavation and EHN.org
to identify PFAS in common consumer products. See the full results at Mamavation.
Related: What are PFAS?
Related: Investigation: PFAS on our shelves and in our bodies
