A report from the Pesticide Action Network Europe (Pan) revealed high levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a chemical that is produced when pesticides containing Pfas chemicals are broken down into soil.
The chemical was recently found to cause harm to reproduction and development.
A total of 66 products including breakfast cereals, popular sweets, pasta, croissants, wholemeal and refined bread, and flour were included in the study.
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Today’s News in 90 seconds – 4th December 2025
Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as Pfas, are chemicals used in manufacturing. The name “forever chemicals” comes from the amount of time it can take for them degrade.
These chemicals can take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade after they products they are used in have been thrown away.
TFA was found in 54 out of the 66 products sampled from 16 different European countries.
Concentration of TFA in the sampled products were 107 times higher than the average concentration found in tap water.
“All people are exposed to TFA through multiple pathways, including food and drinking water,” Pan Europe policy officer Salome Roynel said.
“Our findings underscore the urgent need for an immediate ban of Pfas pesticides to stop further contamination of the food chain.”
After Irish breakfast cereal, the next highest concentration of the chemical was found in Belgian wholemeal bread, followed by wheat flour produced in Germany and a French baguette.
The range of products sampled that contained TFA included a French croissant, Dutch gingerbread, flour from Luxembourg and Italian spaghetti.
Pan Europe said the chemical is “extremely persistent, mobile and toxic to reproduction and development”. Studies have linked TFA to reduced sperm quality, and adverse effects on the thyroid, liver and immune functions.
As it is soluble in water, TFA builds up in waters and soils, where it is absorbed by plants.
Products like bread, pasta and children’s biscuits had high levels of TFA, possibly due to wheat being particularly efficient at accumulating the chemical.
“Levels of TFA exceeded the default maximum residue limit for reprotoxic or hormone-disrupting substances in 81.8pc of the samples. Pesticides that emit TFA must be urgently banned,” Pan Europe head of science Angeliki Lyssimachou said.
“We cannot allow children and pregnant women to be exposed to chemicals that we know harm reproductive health,” she said.