PFAS in the Spotlight: EPA and FDA Zero in on Seafood and Water

The 2024 PFAS Strategic Roadmap highlights EPA’s desire to implement further regulation and oversight to study and reduce exposure to PFAS. Seafood and water-processing may be EPA's new focus after FDA findings.

Last month, EPA released its annual report on its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. In the retrospective, EPA cited its efforts over the past three years to monitor and limit exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in drinking water, remediate PFAS in the environment, regulate PFAS manufacture and use, enforce compliance with PFAS regulations, and reduce PFAS in commercial processes, which we have discussed previously, including in our November 2024 issue. EPA also highlighted areas where it could expand efforts, including management of PFAS in biosolids, further study of PFAS transport through air, skin, and inhalation, and target PFAS exposure.

Other federal regulators have also been active in the study and regulation of PFAS. For example, FDA has turned its attention to PFAS in seafood, following a study reporting that seafood may have higher PFAS levels than other foods. Last month, FDA made a public request for scientific data and information “on PFAS concentrations in seafood, the surrounding environment, and processing water, as well as mitigation strategies.” While FDA announced plans to use this information to inform future regulatory approaches, some firms have already taken action. Two seafood distributors, whose products were included in the 2022 FDA testing, announced voluntary recalls after discovering high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) in their products. According to FDA, addressing “PFAS exposure is a national priority.”

Companies can stay up to date by reviewing EPA’s annual public reports for regulatory developments. Comments on FDA’s information request for PFAS in Seafood can be submitted electronically on Regulations.gov to docket number FDA-2024-N-4604 before February 18, 2025.