Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1307 of 11 June 2026 on the monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in feed
Date: 2026-06-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: animal feedingstuffs, animal health, food contamination, food inspection, food safety, sampling, toxic substance, veterinary inspection








L_202601307EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2026/1307


16.6.2026







            COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION (EU) 2026/1307
of 11 June 2026
         
on the monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in feed


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 292 thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been widely used in industrial and consumer applications including stain-resistant coatings for fabrics and carpets, oil-resistant coatings for paper and board food contact materials, firefighting foams, mining and oil well surfactants, floor polishes and insecticide formulations. Their widespread use, together with their persistency in the environment has resulted in a widespread environmental contamination. Contamination of food with these substances is mainly the result of bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food chains, and of the use of food contact materials containing PFASs. Perfluoroctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and their salts are the PFASs which are found in food and in humans in the highest concentrations.












(2)


In 2020, at the request of the Commission, in its opinion on the risk to human health related to perfluoroalkyl substances (1), the European Food Safety Authority (the Authority) updated its risk assessment of PFOS and PFOA and extended it to perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), taking into account the most recent scientific information and the occurrence data gathered under Commission Recommendation 2010/161/EU (2). The Authority concluded that parts of the European population exceed the tolerable weekly intake. Eggs, fish and other seafood, meat and meat products appeared to be important contributors to the human exposure to PFASs. The Authority concluded that food of animal origin is an important contributor to the human exposure to PFASs. The Authority concluded that PFASs transfer from feed to animal derived food, with clear differences between species and the type of PFASs. Such PFASs transfer may also occur from soil ingested by foraging farm animals and from drinking water for animals.












(3)


In order to ensure a high level of human health protection, maximum levels were established for perfluoroalkyl substances in certain foods of animal origin in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 (3).












(4)


The occurrence of PFASs in animal feed or in the soil on which animals forage, might cause non-compliances of food of animal origin with the maximum levels for food of animal origin.












(5)


Currently only limited data on the presence of PFASs in feed are available to allow to determine the carry-over rates from feed to food of animal origin and to allow a discussion on the possible need to establish maximum levels for PFASs in feed. Therefore, occurrence data should be gathered on PFASs in feed and also in soil in case the presence of PFASs in food of animal origin could be related to the presence of PFASs in soil. Also, the presence of PFASs in drinking water could result in the presence of PFASs in food of animal origin but there are sufficient monitoring data on the presence of PFASs in drinking water available.












(6)


In order to quantify concentrations of PFASs in the quantities in which they occur, sufficiently sensitive methods should be used. This should be encouraged by recommending target limits of quantification.












(7)


In order to ensure that the samples are representative of the sampled lot, Member States should follow the sampling procedure laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 (4),





HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:








1.


Member States, in collaboration with feed business operators, should monitor during 2026, 2027 and 2028 the presence of PFASs in feed.
Member States should test for the presence in feed of the following PFASs:






(a)


Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS);










(b)


Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA);










(c)


Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA);










(d)


Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS).




Member States should, if possible, test also for the presence of compounds which are similar to PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS, but have a different alkyl chain such as those mentioned in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/1431 (5).










2.


The monitoring referred to in point 1. should include a wide variety of feed, in particular:






(a)


fish, other aquatic animals and products derived thereof, which are used as feed;










(b)


seaweed meal and feed materials derived from seaweed;










(c)


feed of mineral origin;










(d)


forage, silage, hay and fresh grass;










(e)


liquid feed;










(f)


compound feed containing fish, other aquatic animals and products derived thereof and/or seaweed meals and feed materials derived from seaweed;




PFASs should also be analysed in the soil on which food producing animals forage and in their drinking water during follow-up investigations on high levels of PFASs in food of animal origin. During these investigations, packaging material as source of contamination can also be examined.
Data should be collected for feed produced in non-polluted regions, but also data from feed from polluted regions may be reported, provided that this is clearly indicated, when reporting the data to the Authority.










3.


In order to ensure that the samples are representative of the sampled lot for feed, Member States should follow the sampling procedure laid down in Regulation (EC) No 152/2009, taking into account that the PFASs are assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout the lot. For soil, those sampling procedures should be followed, where applicable. For drinking water, the sampling procedure referred to in Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), i.e. EN ISO 5667 Water quality – Sampling, should be followed.










4.


The analyses should be carried out in accordance with Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and the Council (7) using a method of analysis that has been proven to generate reliable results. The limits of quantification of the analytical methods should be below or at 0,1 μg/kg for each individual PFAS in feed.










5.


Member States are recommended to provide the analytical results on a regular basis and by 30 June 2029 to the Authority in the EFSA data submission format in line with the requirements of EFSA’s Guidance on Standard Sample Description (SSD2) for Food and Feed (8) and the additional EFSA’s specific reporting requirements.







Done at Brussels, 11 June 2026.


For the Commission

Olivér VÁRHELYI
            

Member of the Commission






(1)  EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Scientific opinion on the risk to human health related to the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances in food, EFSA Journal 2020;18(9):6223, https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6223.

(2)  Commission Recommendation 2010/161/EU of 17 March 2010 on the monitoring of perfluoroalkylated substances in food (OJ L 68, 18.3.2010, p. 22, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2010/161/oj).

(3)  Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (OJ L 119, 5.5.2023, p. 103, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/915/oj).

(4)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 of 27 January 2009 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed (OJ L 54, 26.2.2009, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/152/oj).

(5)  Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/1431 of 24 August 2022 on the monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances in food (OJ L 221, 26.8.2022, p. 105, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2022/1431/oj).

(6)  Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2020/2184/oj).

(7)  Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and The Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625/oj).

(8)  
            https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/call/annual-call-continuous-collection-chemical-contaminants-occurrence-data-food-and-feed-0.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2026/1307/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)