Review: Potential of Food Plants to Contribute to Human Intake of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of anthropogenic chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment. This review examined potential human exposure to PFAS through consumption of food plants, collating PFAS-plant bioaccumulation data, and highlighting the influence of different uptake factors. For commonly measured PFAS, significantly higher concentrations were reported in vegetative plants than in other edible portions. Estimated daily intake (EDI) values were calculated using minimum and maximum PFAS-plant bioaccumulation values and food consumption data for 3 countries. Food plants contributed the greatest EDI of any exposure route, accounting for up to 91.9% and 99.5% under maximum and minimum exposure conditions, respectively. In Australia and the US, wheat was the largest contributor to ∑PFAS maximum EDI from food plants, contributing 82.5–83.9%, due to the high consumption rate of wheat products. Due to regional differences in food consumption between northern and southern China, significant differences in PFAS EDIs were calculated.