Increasing levels of the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) ‘forever chemical’ have been detected in European wines produced since 2010, according to new research.
The ‘Message in a Bottle’ study, published by non-profit group Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe), assessed 49 old and “recent” wines harvested between 1974 and 2024.
Wines from 10 EU countries were analysed, including Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Sweden.
TFA is part of the family of chemicals known as PFAS , or per- and polyfluoroalkyl synthetic compounds.
The substance was not detected in wines produced before 1988, but wines made since 2010 showed a “sharp increase” in contamination, PAN Europe said.
Wines produced specifically between 2021-2024, or recent wines, contained an average level of 122 micrograms per litre, with some reaching more than 300 micrograms per litre.
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By GlobalDataAverage TFA levels varied across the wines, but all countries assessed had wines containing TFA levels “several orders of magnitude higher than the already high background levels in water”, the study found, with wines from Austria being “particularly affected”.
Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, environmental chemist at Austrian environmental organisation Global 2000 and the study’s “initiator”, described the findings as “alarming in two respects” – the first being that they point to significant bioaccumulation of the TFA forever chemical in plants, and the second “more concerning” factor being the increase in TFA contamination since 2010.
“We are likely ingesting significantly more TFA through our diet than previously assumed,” he said.
“Urgent action is needed to stop further TFA emissions into the environment.”
Policy officer at PAN’s European branch, Salome Roynel, called the latest discovery “a clear wake-up call for the EU”.
She added: “Substances that release TFA into the environment must be removed from the market without delay. This must start with an immediate ban on all PFAS pesticides – a direct and easily preventable source of TFA pollution – along with a ban on F-gases.”
EU member states are due to vote on a European Commission proposal to ban a PFAS pesticide called flutolanil, which releases TFA, next month, according to Roynel.
“We hope they understand that this is a decisive moment for the future of our water, our food, and ultimately our health, and vote to support its ban.”
Responding to the study, European wine trade body the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) said: “As always, CEEV stands ready to collaborate with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the context of its ongoing revision of toxicological reference values for TFA.”
It highlighted a couple of limitations in the report, including the small wine sample size.
“Given that the European Union produces approximately 14.3 billion litres of wine annually, this sample size is not statistically representative of the sector as a whole,” it said.
With Austrian wines also representing close to half of the wines studied, it stressed “the sample is not balanced between the studied countries”.
It also highlighted the “unclear” link between pesticide use and TFA contamination, given the study “notes no significant difference in TFA levels between conventional and organic wines”.
“CEEV emphasizes the importance of transparent, science-based approaches when addressing such complex environmental and public health issues,” the group said. “We look forward to further scientific dialogue on this matter and reaffirm our commitment to sustainability and consumer safety in the wine sector.”
A study published in July also found large quantities of the PFAS forever chemicals in humans consuming white rice, eggs, red meat, seafood and coffee.
Posted on Elsevier’s Science Direct website, the research looked into dietary sources of PFAS and found high levels in blood and breast milk samples from more than 1,500 mothers in New Hampshire in the US collected since 2009.
