The US Food and Drug Administration has rejected a legal petition demanding it set limits on toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” in food, marking another setback for public health advocates’ push to limit exposures to the dangerous compounds.
The agency is refusing to set limits despite a growing body of science and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finding food is the biggest source of Pfas exposure.
Kennedy leads the “make America healthy again” (Maha) movement, of which eliminating toxic chemicals from food is a cornerstone.
The group is planning to sue and ask a court to order the FDA to set thresholds.
The agency said it plans to set less non-binding “action levels” that do not require contaminated food to be removed from shelves.
“Tolerance levels”, or limits, make it illegal to sell food contaminated beyond a set threshold.
Pfas gets into food because it is commonly used in pesticides, food packaging and sewage sludge used as fertilizer. »