In a report published on August 21, 2019, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) provided its opinion on the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) earlier scientific evaluation of human health risks posed by the substances perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS; CAS 1763-23-1) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; CAS 335-67-1). Published in March 2018, EFSA’s earlier evaluation of the two perfluorinated substances established tolerable weekly intake (TWI) levels of 13 ng/kg body weight for PFOS and 6 ng/kg body weight for PFOA (FPF reported). The BfR has now recommended that these TWI values should be used to assess health risks from exposure via food. However, it also recommended further review of the evidence for causality and clinical relevance of the studies used to derive such values. Better consumer data for estimating internal and external exposures was also requested to help minimize major uncertainties. The BfR’s opinion concluded that parts of the German population will exceed the proposed TWIs for both substances, and it has reconfirmed its statement from 2008 that there is a health risk to consumers in Germany from PFOS and PFOA exposure.
Reference
BfR (August 21, 2019). “Neue gesundheitsbezogene Richtwerte für die Industriechemikalien PFOS und PFOA.” (pdf) (in German)
