Your morning bowl of cereal could be exposing you to dangerous, long-lasting 'forever chemicals', according to a stark new warning from scientists. A major study has detected a toxic synthetic substance in a wide range of everyday cereal products sold across Europe.
Widespread Contamination in Staple Foods
The research, conducted by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, analysed 66 cereal-based items from 16 EU nations, including Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The team tested breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, biscuits, croissants, and flour.
The results were alarming: the persistent chemical trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was found in 81.8% of samples – that's 54 out of 66 products. The average concentration measured was 78.9 micrograms per kilogram.
Breakfast cereal bought in Ireland was the most contaminated, with levels reaching 360 micrograms per kilogram. On average, TFA concentrations in Irish cereals were a staggering 107 times higher than those typically found in tap water, another known source of these chemicals.
Health Risks and Calls for an Urgent Ban
TFA belongs to the notorious PFAS group, dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not break down naturally in the environment. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to a host of serious health issues, including infertility, developmental problems in babies, high cholesterol, and certain cancers.
Specifically, TFA is considered a corrosive, persistent acid known to adversely affect human health. Experts warn it can disrupt breathing pathways, impair liver function, and harm foetal development. Industry studies also associate it with reduced sperm quality and negative impacts on the thyroid and immune system.
Angeliki Lysimachou, head of science and policy at PAN Europe, stated that pesticides containing TFA 'must be urgently banned'. "We cannot allow children and pregnant women to be exposed to chemicals that we know harm reproductive health," she emphasised.
Wheat Products Show Highest Levels
The report revealed a clear pattern: products containing wheat were significantly more contaminated than those made from other grains. Wheat-based items had, on average, 7.6 times more TFA than products made from rye, oats, maize, or rice.
Researchers suggest this could be because more PFAS pesticides are used on wheat crops, or because the chemicals accumulate more readily in wheat plants due to physiological differences.
Other highly contaminated products included Belgian wholemeal bread (340 µg/kg), wheat flour from Germany (310 µg/kg), French baguette (210 µg/kg), and a Swiss dark bread called Rauchbrot (200 µg/kg). A French croissant contained 180 µg/kg, and Dutch gingerbread pepernoten – a popular children's treat – had 130 µg/kg.
While the study did not include UK-purchased groceries, experts fear the findings are representative of cereal-based products across the Western world. The report concludes that our diet is a significant pathway for human exposure to these harmful substances and calls on regulators to set stricter safety limits and ban all PFAS pesticides.
