ANSES Publishes Unprecedented Review of “Forever Chemicals” Contamination Across France
In an unparalleled initiative with the goal of addressing the widespread contamination of “forever chemicals” in France, the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety has put out extensive reports with recommendations that include major extensions of monitoring strategies for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The reports, which were released in October 2024, represent the first comprehensive assessment of PFAS contamination across all environmental compartments, food systems, and human biomonitoring in France.
From September 2023 to September 2024, ANSES compiled and analyzed close to two million data points related to 142 PFAS substances. The review covered measurements in drinking water, environmental water, sediment, biota, food, air, indoor and outdoor dust, soil, human biological matrices such as blood and urine, and consumer products like cosmetics and textiles. Data originated from existing monitoring networks, scientific literature, and industrial sector databases.
Widespread Contamination Confirmed
The analysis revealed widespread PFAS contamination across France, with environmental advocacy group Générations Futures characterizing the findings as confirmation of the “omnipresence” of these persistent pollutants. The four currently regulated PFAS – PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxS – were found significantly in fish and eggs, while additional PFAS like PFDA and PFUnDA were also detected in various food products.
“These ANSES reports confirm the widespread contamination of food as we announced in our report on PFAS in food last June,” said Générations Futures in their response to the agency’s findings. The group said this data confirms their alarm about the ubiquitous nature of these “eternal pollutants” and points back to their advocacy for increased surveillance and prohibition of the substances.
In drinking water, eight PFAS were quantified in more than 20% of analyzed samples, including PFPeA, PFHxA, PFBA, PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFHpA, and PFBS. The compilation highlighted a significant disparity in monitoring, with 7,816 samples of distributed water analyzed compared to only 193 samples of bottled water.
Data Gaps and Monitoring Challenges
While substantial data on water and food contamination were found in the review, ANSES identified critical gaps in monitoring for air, dust, and soil-compartments currently not covered by any mandatory monitoring activities. The agency also pointed out that available data varies greatly depending on the environmental compartment and specific substance.
“In the air, in the soil, in the dust, there are practically no surveillance elements” in France, explained Matthieu Schuler, Deputy Director General for Science and Expertise at ANSES, during the presentation of the reports. This lack of comprehensive monitoring represents a significant challenge in fully understanding the extent of PFAS contamination via all exposure pathways.
Générations Futures noted other critical gaps in the ANSES review, including that PFAS polymers, pesticides, biocides, and pharmaceuticals were excluded from the review. The organization underscored that more than 2,300 tons of PFAS pesticides were purchased in France in 2023 and likely disseminated into the environment.
From the biomonitoring data, average levels of PFAS measured in the blood of the French population were below the few available thresholds, specifically for PFOS and PFOA, and comparable to the levels measured in other European countries. Nevertheless, Générations Futures has underlined that no studies were identified concerning French workers, though they have extreme exposure in certain industrial sectors.
Expanded Monitoring Strategy
To tackle these knowledge gaps and to efficiently conduct the monitoring, ANSES developed a new classification method for PFAS. The approach combines two scores: an occurrence score linked to the presence of the substance in different environmental compartments and a toxicity score based on toxicological data, its classification as carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic, or as an endocrine disruptor, and ecotoxicity information.
Through this process, ANSES gathered toxicity data that resulted in the identification of 105 more substances. Overall, the agency incorporated a total of 247 PFAS substances, including TFA, into its overall monitoring strategy. This is a significant number of substances to be monitored compared to the few PFAS currently covered by regulatory monitoring.
Considering the results, ANSES proposes three different strategies for surveillance:
Permanent monitoring should be conducted for the most critical and frequently occurring substances included in national monitoring plans. This would include substances with a high occurrence and demonstrated toxicity that call for continuous surveillance.
Occasional exploratory monitoring for substances not currently screened for, or not sufficiently researched. This approach allows for the periodic assessment of emerging PFAS concerns or those substances with limited current data.
Targeted local monitoring of substances related to known or suspected local sources of historic or current contamination. This would apply to known ‘hot spots’ of contamination, as well as areas close to industrial sources.
Key Recommendations and TFA Concern
Among its key recommendations, ANSES calls for five additional substances to be added to the list of 20 PFAS that will be regulated in French drinking water from January 1, 2026. Above all, the agency advises adding trifluoroacetic acid, TFA, to the obligatory monitoring programs.
Of particular concern, TFA is an emerging substance that is currently unregulated. This molecule is used as an active ingredient in phytosanitary and pharmaceutical products, such as antidiabetics, antivirals, anti-HIV medications, and cancer treatments. Indeed, in February 2024, a Générations Futures investigation had shown that TFA was the PFAS most frequently found in tap water in France.
“TFA was integrated because it responds to public health issues,” explained Nawel Bemrah, coordinator of ANSES’ working group on PFAS. “TFA has a high occurrence essentially in water, and besides that, some studies have shown that it is also present in human blood.” Currently, the European Food Safety Authority – EFSA – is assessing the degree of toxicity of TFA.
Therefore, for food monitoring, ANSES recommends extended surveillance of more than the four currently regulated PFAS in certain animal-origin foods, namely, PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA. It proposes monitoring of more than twenty PFAS in total and expanding the controls to include cereals, fruits and vegetables, honey, sugar, and foods for children-currently exempt categories that nevertheless account for large parts of the diet.
Regulatory Context and Criticism
Currently, four PFAS are regulated and monitored in certain foods such as eggs, meat products, and fishery products in the European Union. The EU Drinking Water Directive set a quality limit of 0.10 micrograms per liter for the sum of 20 PFAS in drinking water, with mandatory monitoring to begin January 1, 2026. France anticipated those requirements, implementing them as early as January 1, 2023.
Générations Futures welcomed the comprehensive review conducted by ANSES but leveled some pointed critiques of current regulatory frameworks. It characterized existing regulations as “outdated and inadequate to protect consumer health,” noting that of the thousands of substances in the PFAS family, EU regulations only mandate surveillance of three in food products.
The advocacy group also noted a number of inconsistencies in regulatory limits, which “differ immensely depending on the kind of food and even within similar kinds of food.” While the general limit for fish is two micrograms of PFAS per kilogram, for example, some species have limits four times higher-reaching eight micrograms per kilo for herring and monkfish, and as much as 45 micrograms per kilo for anchovies. It is obvious, said Générations Futures, “that economic considerations and not health considerations were taken into account in defining these limits.”
It also highlighted the surprising absence of regulatory limits for foods marketed to infants and young children, who are especially vulnerable to exposures to these kinds of chemicals.
Broader Context and Further Steps
ANSES’ work follows on from the current efforts being made at European level to limit the use of PFAS. International regulations have already been implemented banning or restricting several substances which pose proven risks: PFOS in 2009, PFOA in 2020, and PFHxS in 2022. In September 2024, under the REACH Regulation, the European Commission adopted restrictions on PFHxA and related substances, banning their sale and use in consumer textiles, food packaging, waterproofing sprays, cosmetics, and certain firefighting foam applications.
In France, legislation adopted in February 2025 will ban PFAS-containing products in cosmetics, ski waxes, and clothing and footwear sectors starting in 2026, with expansion to all textiles by 2030. A broader European restriction proposal is currently under review by the European Chemicals Agency, though industry lobbying efforts have been extensive.
On this issue, ANSES pointed out that there will be a further need for monitoring even if a manufacturing and marketing ban is established, due to the persistence of PFAS in the environment. In particular, it calls for the establishment of a national system that regularly updates the proposed categorization with newly acquired data, coordinated by various stakeholders in the Inter-Ministerial Action Plan on PFAS.
Matthieu Schuler invited observers to consider the ANSES reports as complementary to progressive restrictions on PFAS use. “While restricting the use of these molecules is a priority to limit their emissions,” he said, “faced with such a vast and heterogeneous family of substances, identifying the most concerning ones is a major element in optimizing monitoring systems.”
Way Ahead
The categorization method developed by ANSES is scalable and can be updated as new data becomes available on occurrence, toxicity, and pathways of exposure. In so doing, this adaptive approach recognizes that PFAS contamination presents a long-term challenge that requires sustained vigilance and evolving strategies.
Beyond PFAS specifically, ANSES calls for the development of an integrated approach to monitoring chemical contaminants, including integrated risk assessment and management strategies that take into account the intrinsic hazard of compounds, environmental presence, and potential human exposures.
ANSES’ recommendations will thus be the object of adaptation of monitoring strategies by the competent authorities and responsible stakeholders, in particular industry players. These findings by the agency feed into the Inter-Ministerial Action Plan on PFAS and contribute to ongoing European regulatory discussions.
As France prepares for expanded drinking water monitoring in January 2026, and as European restrictions continue to evolve, ANSES provides a much-needed comprehensive review that forms a critical foundation for evidence-based policy decisions. This work underlines not only the pervasive nature of the contamination by PFAS but also the urgent need for coordinated action to protect public health and environmental quality.
Detailed information on levels of contamination, recommendations for monitoring, and the methodology used to develop the categorization is available to interested organizations, researchers, and stakeholders through reports available on the ANSES website.
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