A new study by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN) has found widespread contamination of cereal products across Europe with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) — a toxic “forever chemical” created when pesticides containing PFAS break down in soil. Breakfast cereals were found to contain the highest concentrations, averaging 100 times more TFA than tap water.
Researchers tested 65 conventional cereal-based foods from 16 European countries, detecting TFA in more than 80% of samples. Wheat-based products showed the strongest contamination. The highest levels were found in Irish breakfast cereal, followed by Belgian and German wholemeal bread, and French baguette. Products ranging from pasta and croissants to cheese scones, gingerbread, and flour were also affected.
PFAS chemicals, used commercially since the 1950s, are known for their extreme persistence in the environment and slow breakdown over centuries. TFA is considered reprotoxic — capable of harming fertility, development, and reproductive health — and has been linked to thyroid, liver and immune system damage.
Campaigners warn that the findings show an urgent need for stricter regulation. PAN has called for a ban on PFAS-based pesticides and for governments to establish protective TFA safety limits, noting that monitoring of the chemical in food is virtually nonexistent.
Although the UK was not included in the study, researchers say the results have clear implications, as PFAS remain widely used in British agriculture. PAN Europe argues that without decisive action, contamination of soil, plants, food and water will continue to increase, putting public health at risk — particularly for children.
