Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Traditional, Organic and Protein Flours

Scientific discussions are focussed on establishing safety limits for the presence of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food, in response to growing evidence of health risks associated with their exposure. To the best of the authors' knowledge, most studies have so far focused on animal-derived food, which generally represents the highest source of ingested PFAS. Only recently research has shifted to the monitoring of these contaminants also in vegetables and baked processed foods. Flours have not been extensively investigated and data on their presence is difficult to find in literature. The absence of data has resulted in the European Regulation currently not specifying any regulatory limits for PFAS in flours. This study aims to collect informative data on the presence of these contaminants in flours from different origin and to infer information regarding the total exposure deriving from this staple food. This study assessed the amount and type of PFAS present in traditional, organic, protein flours and feed. The most detected PFAS at quantifiable concentrations were PFOA and PFDA. Flours for human consumption contained PFAS in the range 0.015-0.176 ng/g, while flours for feed and from crickets contained PFAS in the range 0.033-1.963 ng/g. Differences have been observed between the three groups of samples in the average PFAS content; the difference between protein and organic resulted statistically significative. Our data suggest that consuming 200 g of flour per day could significantly contribute to the total weekly intake of PFAS.