FOOD SAFETY NEWS – The U.S. FDA has added several Chinese companies to its Import Alert 99-48, Detention without Physical Examination of Foods Due to Chemical Contamination, to prevent future entry of shipments into the U.S. of processed clams because of contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
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 agency also continues to analyze foods from the FDA’s Total Diet Study.
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 FDA detected elevated levels of PFAS, notably perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in samples of clams from the firms, resulting in the products being subject to refusal of admission to the U.S. market under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
As the FDA continues to update and enhance its approach and process for evaluating and monitoring chemicals, adding firms to an import alert is part of the agency’s commitment to reducing harmful exposure to chemical contaminants like PFAS in the food supply.
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