Recent studies have highlighted increasing levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in plant-derived foods and beverages, raising new questions for producers, retailers and regulators. TFA is an ultrashort PFAS and while it is not bioaccumulative in the traditional sense, research shows that it can concentrate in aerial plant tissues through soil, water and foliar deposition. Reported accumulation factors may reach up to 13,000, with dry matter concentrations ranging from 25 to more than 1,100 µg/kg.
Several high-profile investigations have underlined the scale of exposure in everyday foods. The latest PAN Europe and GLOBAL 2000 study, The Forever Chemical in Our Daily Bread1, identified TFA levels of up to 420 µg/kg in cereal products, with conventional items showing around 3.5× higher concentrations than organic equivalents. This follows earlier reporting on TFA in wine, where vintages from 2021–2023 averaged approximately 122,000 ng/L.
In response to rising demand for surveillance of ultrashort PFAS, our PFAS Competence Centre at Eurofins Food & Feed Testing Sweden, has developed new analysis options for TFA and related compounds in vegetables, fruit, cereals and other non-woody plants
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Two dedicated testing packages cover four ultrashort PFAS, with a reporting limit (LOQ) of 10 µg/kg for TFA and 0.1–1 µg/kg for the remaining substances
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Sample requirements are 100 g (optimal) or 20 g (minimum), with sample preparation applied where needed
For producers seeking stronger due diligence, these packages provide a reliable route to quantify emerging ultrashort PFAS in plant-derived raw materials and finished products. We also offer equivalent packages for testing TFA in wines.
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November 2025
