Investigation reveals PFAS contamination from sugar beet fields to factory discharge, creating a circular pollution pattern.
ARCIS-SUR-AUBE, France — Cristal Union, France’s biggest sugar supplier and owner of the famous Daddy sugar brand, is at the center of an ever-increasing environmental scandal after a joint investigation by France 3 Champagne-Ardenne and independent media Disclose revealed PFAS contamination across its entire production chain.
The revelation represents the first time that “forever chemicals” have been documented as infiltrating the operations of a major agro-food industry giant in France, right from the agricultural fields through to the finished products intended for animal consumption.
A Circular Contamination Pattern
Investigation shows a disquieting circle of contamination in Cristal Union’s facilities, especially at the Arcis-sur-Aube plant in the Aube region. During the sugar beet harvest between September and January, 900 truck-loads of sugar beets reach the factory daily, undergo washing, chopping, centrifugation, and crystallization processes for eventually reaching their destiny in products such as Coca-Cola.
The cleaning process washes the PFAS molecules off the beets. But instead of discharging these contaminated wash waters into sewage systems or rivers, they are spread over some 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of farmland in about thirty surrounding municipalities, thereby in effect re-contaminating the soil in what investigators describe as a “re-pollution cycle.”
“We have no choice: if nobody unblocks the factory’s output, tomorrow it won’t run anymore. We have to evacuate these discharges one way or another,” explained Laurent, a sugar beet farmer who for years has been spreading these muddy waters on his fields without knowing they contained PFAS.
According to the investigation, no farmers contacted in the spreading zone were aware of the PFAS pollution. “You know, we’re not inside the processes,” justified the farmer. However Cristal Union launched an important study on the subject in spring 2024—apparently without informing the farmers spreading the contaminated water on their land.
Government Mandate Uncovers Widespread Problem
Cristal Union, one of France’s biggest agricultural cooperatives, with €2.65 billion in annual revenues, insists it “does not use any PFAS in its processes.” Like many other industrial operations, the company found itself subject to PFAS scrutiny when the French government mandated in June 2023 that several thousand facilities test for these molecules in their water discharges.
Three of Cristal Union’s thirteen factories in France fell under this national surveillance plan because they operate distilleries. PFAS was detected at each of these facilities. During peak sugar beet season, according to 2023 analyses, up to 2.7 grams of PFBA, perfluorobutanoic acid, were discharged from the Arcis plant in a single day.
The pollution doesn’t stop at water discharge. Cristal Union’s own far-reaching testing program, which examined over 500 samples-more than required under the regulations-detected low levels of PFAS in the vinasse (that is used as fertilizer), the molasses employed as livestock feed, beet pulp, and pellets. Significantly, no PFAS was found in the sugar or alcohol manufactured.
Pesticides Suspected as Contamination Source
The contamination could come from the application of pesticides in sugar beet fields, even though Cristal Union says that no PFAS are used or manufactured in its plants. The company asked an independent research team from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA), specializing in environmental chemistry, to carry out research on the various possible sources of PFAS in the environment and their circulation pathways.
The results from this study are expected to be published in a scientific journal soon, though critics argue the company should have immediately disclosed existing data rather than wait for additional research.
The “Forever Chemicals” Threat
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of synthetic chemicals better known as “forever chemicals” due to their extreme persistence in the environment and resistance to degradation. They have been linked with cancer, disruption of immune system function, and developmental problems, among other health effects. Thousands of consumer products contain these compounds for their water- and grease-resistant properties: from non-stick cookware to firefighting foam.
According to analyses compiled by Disclose, soil and agricultural sludge sampled in the surrounding lands show abnormal concentrations of PFAS, confirming diffuse pollution across the agricultural landscape.
Regulatory Response and Company Defense
Several inspections were carried out in Cristal Union facilities by the Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing. An inspection report published in May 2025 stated that no violations of regulatory obligations related to PFAS were identified at the company’s industrial sites.
In a statement in reply to the investigation, Cristal Union said that the PFAS concentrations found were “infinitesimal, at the limit of quantifiable measurements.” The company stated that initial AOF measurements made at Arcis-sur-Aube in 2023 had already been disqualified by subsequent analyses using more sophisticated techniques ordered by DREAL.
The company noted that AOF is no longer considered a reliable indicator of the presence of PFAS by public authorities and was excluded from the PFAS reduction trajectory established by the decree of September 8, 2025. This regulatory trajectory only concerns actors producing or generating PFAS, which Cristal Union claims not to do.
“It is normal that PFAS be a source of concern, but research on this subject is only in its early stages,” the company said. “We must proceed with caution, respecting the time necessary for solid, independent and responsible science.”
Political and Environmental Response
The revelations have sparked outrage among environmental groups and regional politicians. Christophe Dumont, a regional councillor, addressed the president of the Grand Est Regional Council on October 16, 2025, declaring : “PFAS contamination at Cristal Union is not simply an environmental alert, it’s a public health scandal and a collective failure of industrial regulation. The Grand Est region must demand complete transparency on study results and act without delay to protect populations and soils. Public health is not negotiable.”
Grand Est Ecologists demand the immediate publication of the study’s results, which Cristal Union launched in spring 2024, in particular to protect farmers and residents exposed to this contamination. According to environmental groups, abnormally high levels of adsorbable organic fluorine and perfluorobutyric acid were detected at the Arcis-sur-Aube factory, revealing systemic pollution.
“From sugar beet fields to factories, through wash waters being spread, the entire production chain is now contaminated,” said Ecologists in an October 16 press release.
Industry-Wide Implications
The Cristal Union case points to wider issues of agricultural and food industry contamination by PFAS. It shows how these contaminants can find their way into food production systems even if they have never had an actual use in manufacturing processes.
The circular nature of the contamination, in which PFAS enter through agricultural inputs, concentrate during processing, and return to fields through waste spreading, lends itself to self-perpetuation and a cycle that is extremely difficult to break without fundamental changes in agricultural and industrial practice.
While the company says that PFAS are not present in finished products such as sugar, PFAS have been found in other sold products-especially in vinasse, used as fertilizer in fields, and molasses fed to animals-which are raising concerns about the entry of PFAS into the broader food chain through animal agriculture.
Accountability and Transparency Questions
One of the central controversies in the case is what critics describe as a lack of transparency. According to Disclose, more than 500 analyses were kept secret by the company or its subcontractors, their results never published or transmitted to local authorities.
Environmental advocates argue that even when PFAS concentrations are low, and technically within regulatory limits, the circular nature of the contamination and its potential to accumulate over time necessitates immediate public disclosure and preventive action.
The case also raises questions about France’s regulatory framework for PFAS, which critics say has lagged behind the scale of contamination now being revealed across the country. Indeed, the 2023 government mandate under which Cristal Union’s PFAS issues came to light applied to thousands of facilities nationwide, suggesting the problem extends far beyond a single company or industry.
Looking Ahead
The Cristal Union case points out that contamination has already infiltrated agricultural systems in complex ways as France and the European Union consider stricter regulations on PFAS, including potential bans of whole classes of the chemicals.
The situation underlines fundamental tensions between intensive agricultural production and the prevention of persistent pollutants. Given the strategic position of sugar beet cultivation in France, solutions that protect both the industry and public health will need cooperation between regulators, industry, farmers, and scientists on an unprecedented scale.
For now, the sugar beet harvest carries on, machines expected to collect up to 3 million tons of beets this season along with the “forever chemicals” they now carry.
Source Information:This article is based on a joint investigation by France 3 Champagne-Ardenne regional television and Disclose, an independent investigative journalism organization, published October 9, 2025.
