For the Pesticide Action Network’s new report (Message from the Bottle – The Rapid Rise of TFA Contamination Across the EU) scientists analysed 10 old wines and 39 recent wines originating from 10 European countries including France, Germany and Spain.
TFA was detected in all of the recent wines, with a median concentration of 110 micrograms per litre and peak levels of up to 320 micrograms per litre. This is around 100 times higher than the average levels measured in surface and drinking water in a previous study.
Meanwhile, TFA was not detected in any of the old wines harvested before 1988, with a sharp increase in contamination levels since 2010 noted.
A parallel pesticide analysis found the residue of up to eight pesticides and pesticide metabolites in 94% of the conventionally produced wines that were tested. Notably, four out of five organic wines analysed were free from any detectable pesticide residues, but all contained TFA.
TFA is the non-degradable end product of the breakdown of other PFAS compounds, which are used in refrigerators and pesticides. Long regarded as harmless, a 2021 study revealed severe malformations in rabbit foetuses exposed to TFA and it has since been suspected of posing a risk to human reproductive health.
Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, environmental chemist at GLOBAL 2000 and initiator of the study, described the findings as “alarming”.
“We are likely ingesting significantly more TFA through our diet than previously assumed,” Burtscher-Schaden said.
“Urgent action is needed to stop further TFA emissions into the environment.”
Michael Müller, professor of pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry at the University of Freiburg, added: “Our findings clearly show the urgent need for immediate measures to stop further TFA emissions. In more recent wines harvested after 2020, we have observed a wide range of TFA contamination.
“The lowest levels were found in organically produced wines, from grapes grown on land that has been free from chemical inputs for decades. This points to PFAS pesticides as a direct or indirect contributing factor that may help explain the high TFA levels detected in crops.”
Salome Roynel, policy officer at the Pesticide Action Network, said that the findings should serve as a wake-up call for the EU and urged for policymakers to ban substances that release TFA into the environment.
“In mid-May EU Member States are invited to vote on the Commission’s proposal to ban the PFAS pesticide flutolanil – a TFA emitter,” she continued.
“We hope they understand that this is a decisive moment for the future of our water, our food, and ultimately our health, and vote to support its ban.”
