The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added eight Chinese clam exporters to a recent import alert due to contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The FDA said that products from the eight manufacturers and processors had “detected elevated levels of PFAS, notably perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in samples of clams.”
The named firms are Donggang Hongxing Food; Donggang Yixing Food; Donggang City Tianhong Aquatic Foodstuff; Dandong Zhengrun Food; Nantong Changhua Aquatic Food; Liaoning Baichen Food; Dandong Jiamei Food; and Donggang City Gangzhu Foodstuff.
The FDA anticipates that, as it continues sampling activities at the U.S. border, additional firms may be added to the import alert.
“As the FDA continues to update and enhance our approach and process for evaluating and monitoring chemicals, adding firms to an import alert is part of our commitment to reducing harmful exposure to chemical contaminants like PFAS in the food supply,” the agency said.
In late December, the FDA also refused entry of three shipments of canned clams from Tri-Union/Chicken of the Sea, Crown Prince, and Kawasho Foods’ Geisha brand because testing showed high levels of PFOA, according to the agency.
“[The agency is] taking action to protect public health by preventing clam shipments with elevated levels of PFOA from coming into the U.S. and adding these firms to an import alert to automatically stop future shipments at the border, but it is important to note that industry is responsible for the safety of its products and must comply with applicable regulations to ensure the safety of commercially available seafood like processed clams,” the FDA said. “Seafood processors have a responsibility to determine whether there are food safety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur, including chemical contamination such as PFAS, for each kind of fish and to identify and implement preventive measures to control those hazards.”
To further inform its understanding of PFAS in seafood, the FDA recently issued a request for information to help fill data gaps that remain regarding PFAS in seafood and is conducting two ongoing seafood surveys.
“The results of FDA’s testing are used to help the agency better understand PFAS in commercially available foods and identify foods or types of foods that would benefit from further targeted surveys to help ensure a safe and nutritious food supply. The FDA will release results of the surveys after completion,” the agency said.
PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. They 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. Studies have linked PFAS build-up in humans to cancer, liver and kidney harm, damage to human reproductive and immune systems, and other diseases.
