PFAS in food of animal origin in Veneto: 680 of 703 samples within legal limits, 8 of 156 farms above the limit for PFOA or PFOS — methods 2–10 times more sensitive than in 2016–2017
On 21 July 2026 the Veneto Region and Italy’s Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) presented a report on surveillance of 14 PFAS in food of animal origin from contaminated areas in the provinces of Vicenza, Verona and Padua. Compared with the 2016–2017 plan, levels have generally fallen.
- The plan was designed by the ISS on behalf of the region, in cooperation with the Istituto Zooprofilattico delle Venezie, the environmental agency ARPA Veneto and the local health authorities. It covered 14 PFAS: 12 compounds from the previous study (including PFOA and PFOS) plus GenX and cC6O4, in eight matrices — muscle and liver of cattle, pigs and poultry, eggs and cow’s milk — and in the animals’ drinking water on every farm.
- The survey covered 156 farms in zones of high, medium and low contamination; 703 elementary samples were taken and combined into 347 analytical samples. Analytical methods 2–10 times more sensitive than in the 2016–2017 plan were used, so many more results fell above the detection limits — something to bear in mind when comparing the two plans.
- Of the 703 elementary samples, 680 (97 %) were within legal limits where such limits exist and 18 (3 %) exceeded maximum levels; in 5 samples from 3 farms PFOS and PFOA exceeded the indicative levels above which the cause of contamination must be investigated. 148 farms were below the limits, while 8 exceeded them for PFOA or PFOS in bovine muscle, bovine liver or pig liver. No egg sample exceeded the maximum levels.
- The link between food contamination and contamination of the animals’ drinking water was confirmed, especially for PFOS where unfiltered well water was used: products from farms with exceedances were blocked and the farms were required, among other things, to connect to the public water supply. Analyses of plant products are ongoing; the ISS’s next step is consumer exposure scenarios compared with the background exposure of the population of north-eastern Italy.