Following the recent discovery of chemicals known as PFAS in some kinds of food, the Environmental Working Group says the Environmental Protection Agency is not doing enough to deal with PFAS contamination.
Earlier this year, the EPA announced it's moving forward with what it calls an action plan. It could potentially set drinking water standards for two kinds of the chemicals.
The EPA is not acting quickly enough with its plan, said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group.
“The action plan and this update on the action plan is really a plan to plan and not a plan to act,” he said.
David Andrews, senior scientist for the EWG, says new research suggests safe levels of PFAS exposure are much lower than previously thought.
“The PFAS contamination of food is likely coming from air emissions, contaminated water, and contaminated sludge or biosolids,” he said. “The FDA should collect much more information on food contaminated with PFAS because at this point it is not really possible to know which types of foods or from which locations pose the greatest risks.”
“Any additional exposure to PFAS chemicals is a human health concern," said Andrews. "People need to reduce their exposure to these toxic chemicals any way they can."
Andrews said the EPA is not treating this issue as a crisis.
“The agency has shown no urgency to address the PFAS crisis and Americans are no closer to being protected from PFAS chemicals than they were a year ago.”
