Eight firms have been added to and FDA Import Alert for PFAS in clams. PFAS include chemicals that resist grease, oil, water, and heat. They were first used in the 1940s. Some PFAS are authorized by the FDA for limited use in food packaging, cookware, and food processing equipment. Accumulation of some PFAS does occur in humans and animals, and some types of PFAS have been associated with serious health problems.
The FDA has been conducting a targeted survey for PFAS in molluscan shellfish, including clams, such as domestic and imported clams, both raw and processed; mussels; oysters; and scallops. These filter feeders remove nutrients and chemicals from the water, which can concentrate in the flesh of the animal.
The FDA detected elevated levels of PFAS, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in samples of clams from these firms, so these products are subject to refusal of admission to the U.S. market
The firms are the first to be added to Import Alert 99-48 and are manufacturers or processors of clams from China. Those firms include Donggang Hongxing Food Co., Ltd; Donggang Yixing Food Co., Ltd; Donggang City Tianhong Aquatic Foodstuff Co., Ltd; Dandong Zhengrun Food Co., Ltd; Nantong Changhua Aquatic Food Co., Ltd; Liaoning Baichen Food Co., Ltd; Dandong Jiamei Food Co., Ltd; and Donggang City Gangzhu Foodstuff Co., Ltd.
To decide whether the type and level of PFAS in a food can pose a health risk, the FDA considers factors including how much of the food people eat, the level of PFAS detected, and the toxicity of the specific type of PFAS.
Seafood processors are responsible to determine whether there are food safety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur, including chemical contamination such as PFAS, for each kind of fish. They must also identify and implement preventive measures to control those hazards.
