Significant research is underway to better answer this question. At this point, home grown produce likely contributes to less PFAS exposure than drinking water or food products like eggs and seafood. While PFAS may be present in co-compost, it is likely diluted when mixed with surrounding soils, so less PFAS ends up in the plants. Note that co-compost has not been available to the public since August 2019.
| The benefits of a healthy diet are likely to outweigh the potential risk from PFAS in home grown vegetables. All home-grown produce should be rinsed to remove any residual soil/co-compost and you should wash your hands after working in the garden. Check out this biosolids fact sheet for more information: https://www.nebiosolids.org/pfas-biosolids |
Want to learn more about how PFAS travels from soil or co-compost into plants?
Many factors affect how PFAS ends up in plants, including:
- soil conditions: organic carbon, clay content, etc.
- produce type: leafy green, root vegetable, fruit, etc.
- PFAS concentrations in the co-compost/soil or irrigation water
- PFAS type: short chain versus long chain. Short-chain compounds are thought to pose less risk to human health than long chain.
We generally know that shorter chain compounds that are more soluble (dissolved) in water are more likely to be found in the fruit of a plant. On the other hand, long chain compounds (like PFOS and PFOA) tend to stick to soils or translocate (move) into and store in the plant’s roots or leaves.