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FDA testing found no PFAS above the laboratory detection limit in more than 95% of the fresh and processed food samples it tested through its Total Diet Study. Seafood samples were a notable exception: PFAS were detected in many of the samples tested, and FDA judged estimated exposure from some imported canned clams from China likely to be a health concern. Those findings apply to specific samples—not every food in a category—and a detection alone does not mean a food is unsafe.
How PFAS can get into food
PFAS are a large group of chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals” because many break down slowly. Food can be affected when crops or animals are raised in contaminated areas, or during processing. FDA also says small amounts may enter foods through processing and cookware. The agency’s PFAS overview describes these potential pathways.
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What FDA tested—and what the results show
Since 2019, FDA has tested foods purchased from grocery stores through its Total Diet Study (TDS), which covers commonly eaten foods such as produce, bread, dairy, meat, fish, poultry and processed foods. It has also conducted targeted sampling. FDA describes its laboratory method as validated for measuring 30 PFAS in diverse foods, and reports more than 1,900 food samples tested from the U.S. market across TDS and targeted assignments. The agency’s testing and dietary-exposure overview explains the programs.
In the TDS results summarized in FDA’s PFAS food Q&A, 1,290 of 1,352 fresh and processed food samples—over 95%—had no PFAS detected above the method detection limit. That does not establish that the foods contained absolutely no PFAS: it means any amount present was below the method’s detection threshold.
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- TESTS FOR: 18 PFAS compounds including PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid), PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid, Perfluoroheptanoic acid, Perfluorononanoic acid, Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid, Perfluoroundecanoic acid, Perfluorododecanoic acid, Perfluorodecanoic acid, Perfluorohexanoic acid, NEtFOSAA, NMeFOSAA, Perfluorotetradecanoic acid, Perfluorotridecanoic acid, GenX, 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid, 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonic acid, and 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid
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Seafood detections were more frequent in the tested sample sets. FDA found one or more PFAS in 46 of 67 TDS seafood samples (69%). In a separate, targeted 2022 seafood survey, it found one or more PFAS in 60 of 81 samples (74%). The targeted survey included clams, cod, crab, pollock, salmon, shrimp, tilapia and tuna. These percentages describe the samples FDA tested; they are not estimates of the share of all seafood sold in the United States that contains PFAS.
| FDA sample set | Samples with PFAS detected | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Total Diet Study seafood | 46 of 67 (69%) | Detection frequency in the tested TDS seafood samples |
| Targeted seafood survey, 2022 | 60 of 81 (74%) | Detection frequency in the survey’s targeted samples |
FDA has reported that the targeted survey found detectable PFAS in a greater percentage of seafood samples, more types of PFAS, and higher levels in multiple samples than earlier TDS seafood testing. The two sample sets differ in purpose and selection, so their detection rates should not be used to rank seafood against other foods by health risk. FDA posts food-by-food analytical results on its analytical results page.
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Why some canned-clam samples raised concern
FDA assessed estimated PFOA exposure associated with some imported canned clam samples from China as likely a health concern, using reference values available at the time. Two distributors issued voluntary recalls. In subsequent testing, FDA detected at least one PFAS in each of 12 processed clam samples from the two processors associated with the highest PFOA findings, and detected PFOA in all 12.
This finding concerns the tested samples and the agency’s assessment of estimated exposure from them. It does not establish that all clams, all seafood, or current products from a particular place have the same levels. FDA said most detections in the wider 2022 seafood survey were not likely health concerns under the reference values then available.
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Detection, exposure and health concern are different
A laboratory detection means a PFAS was measured above the method’s detection threshold. To assess potential health concern, FDA considers the measured concentration, how much of the food people typically eat, and toxicological information for the particular PFAS. Thus, a detection is not itself a determination that eating the food is harmful.
FDA’s current reference values cover ten PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA (GenX), PFBS, PFBA, PFHxA, PFDA and 6:2 FTS. The agency assesses applicable chemicals individually in food samples. It says its current approach does not yet account for possible additive effects when multiple PFAS occur together; methods for evaluating mixtures are being explored. Assessments can also change as scientific evidence and reference values evolve. See FDA’s description of its assessment approach.
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Why FDA’s results do not describe the entire food supply
Individual food sample counts are limited. FDA says TDS results can help identify foods for further targeted testing, but should not be treated as definitive estimates of PFAS levels across the general food supply. A complete TDS market basket consists of 24 regional and two national collections; FDA has said it uses a complete basket to estimate nutrients and contaminants in the general supply. Its public materials do not establish that the full PFAS market basket is complete, so the available findings do not settle a current, definitive U.S. population exposure estimate from total diet.
FDA reported six additional 2024 regional TDS collections in a release that supplemented eight collections already posted. That update adds results but does not by itself establish completion of the full PFAS market basket. The agency’s 2024-results release and April 2024 update provide the related announcements.
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What changed with PFAS food packaging
FDA says that as of February 2024, grease-proofing agents containing PFAS were no longer being sold in the United States. In January 2025, it announced that 35 food-contact notifications related to PFAS grease-proofers for paper and paperboard packaging were no longer effective after those uses were abandoned. This addresses one food-contact pathway; it does not remove PFAS that may reach food through environmental contamination of growing, raising or processing areas. FDA’s PFAS overview describes the agency’s updates.
Quick Recap
What readers can reasonably take away
- Most tested fresh and processed TDS samples had no PFAS detected above the laboratory method’s threshold.
- PFAS detections were common in the seafood samples FDA tested, but sample rates do not show how common contamination is across seafood sold generally.
- The canned-clam concern was specific to estimated PFOA exposure from some tested imported samples, not a finding about all seafood or clams.
- FDA’s published results are useful for identifying possible concerns and guiding further testing, but limited sample counts and an incomplete market-basket picture constrain conclusions about overall dietary exposure.
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