The FDA refused entry of three shipments of canned clams into the U.S. after finding high concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a type of polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS).
According to testing from the FDA, canned clams from Tri-Union/Chicken of the Sea, Crown Prince, and Kawasho Foods’ Geisha brand showed high levels of PFOA. In FDA testing of 12 processed clam samples in September and October, it found the three highest concentrations of PFOA were 6.02 parts per billion (ppb) in the sample of Geisha clams, 6.59 ppb in Crown Prince clams, and 25.2 ppb in Tri-Union/Chicken of the Sea clams.
Additionally, there were “a broad range of detectable levels” of at least one type of PFAS in all samples, and PFOA was also detected in every sample, the FDA said in an update on its PFAS web page.
Currently, the EPA has health advisories about the level of PFAS in drinking water, with healthy guidance hovering around concentrations of 0.004 parts per trillion.
The FDA is studying whether concentrations of PFAS found in food are a possible human health concern given consumption rates and concentration. Bivalves are especially being targeted by the FDA as it assesses dietary exposure to PFAS.
“Filter feeders, such as clams, but also other bivalve mollusks, including oysters, mussels, and scallops, have the potential to bioaccumulate more environmental contaminants than other seafood types,” the FDA said.
The FDA does not yet have an action level or regulatory limit for PFAS in food, a spokesperson told SeafoodSource.
“We continue to evaluate our approach to assessing PFAS in food as the science evolves. When the FDA detects PFAS in food, we may conduct an assessment to evaluate whether the levels detected present a possible human health concern,” the spokesperson said.
The agency considers several factors, including whether there is an established action level or tolerance at the time of detection, how much of the specific food people typically eat, the level of the PFAS detected in that food, and if there is scientific information on the toxicity of the specific type of PFAS.
“Understanding PFAS exposure from food is an evolving area of science and more data are needed,” the spokesperson said.
In 2022, the FDA conducted a targeted study of PFAS in 81 retail seafood samples. The survey, which followed on a previous study completed in 2021, included clam, cod, crab, pollock, salmon, shrimp, tuna, and tilapia products and helped the agency determine that PFOA – a type of PFAS – found in samples of canned clams from China were “likely a health concern,” the agency said.
Subsequently, Bumble Bee recalled some of its China-sourced canned clam products, quickly followed by Crown Prince.
Earlier this year, the FDA shifted its policy to say that products with higher than allowed levels of PFAS to face import alerts and detentions.
PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products, the FDA said in its updated Import Alert 99-48. The substances do not easily break down, and further, some types have been shown to accumulate in the environment and in human bodies, with potentially harmful impact, the FDA said.
