The chemicals, known as "forever chemicals" for their refusal to break down in the environment or the human body, were found in tinned tuna, sausages, steak, salmon, eggs, milk, cheese, and more. This is not a contamination problem confined to a single product line. This is a systemic failure. The most alarming finding was not the concentration in any one item, but the ubiquity across the entire Tesco own-brand range.
Key points:
- Every one of 30 Tesco own-brand food products tested positive for PFAS chemicals.
- Highest concentrations found in cod fillets, sardines, turkey sausages, hotdogs, and smoked mackerel.
- PFAS are linked to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, and immune suppression.
- European safety limits for PFAS may be inadequate given bioaccumulation over time.
- Tesco claims its products comply with EU legal limits, but critics say the limits themselves are too weak.
- Campaigners are calling on UK government and supermarkets to remove PFAS from food and packaging.
The toxic trail from factory to dinner plate
PFAS represent a class of more than 5,000 synthetic compounds invented for their nonstick, waterproof, and grease-resistant properties. They line fast-food wrappers, coat nonstick pans, and foam fire extinguishers. They are found in waterproof jackets, cosmetics, and even dental floss. But their utility in consumer goods comes at a terrible cost. These chemicals do not degrade. They persist in soil, water, and air for centuries. They accumulate in living tissue, climbing the food chain with each meal.
The mechanism of contamination is straightforward but poorly understood by the average shopper. Industrial facilities dump PFAS into rivers and streams. Municipal wastewater treatment plants, landfills, and airports also release these compounds. From water, PFAS enter fish, crops, and livestock. From packaging, they migrate directly into food. The result is a population-wide exposure that begins in the womb and continues until death.
The study measured PFAS in nanograms per gram, tiny amounts measured in billionths of a gram. Yet scientists warn that even these minute quantities are dangerous because the chemicals build up over time. The European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable weekly intake of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight for certain PFAS compounds. For a 70 kilogram adult, that equals roughly 300 nanograms per week. A single serving of Tesco cod fillets containing 1.198 nanograms per gram would deliver a substantial portion of that weekly allowance. Repeat that exposure week after week, year after year, and the body becomes a storage facility for industrial waste.
Tesco's defense falls flat against bio-accumulation science
Tesco responded to the findings by insisting its products and packaging are safe and comply with UK and EU legislation. A spokesman stated that the products tested are below EU legal limits for PFAS. The company also noted it is working with suppliers to meet incoming EU legislation for food packaging.
This defense misses the point entirely. The question is not whether individual products fall below arbitrary legal thresholds. The question is whether those thresholds protect human health when exposure comes from multiple sources simultaneously. The Foodrise study found PFAS in fish, meat, dairy, and processed items. A typical British shopper buying milk, eggs, sausages, and fish from Tesco in a single week would accumulate PFAS from every category. The legal limits do not account for cumulative exposure.
Carina Millstone, executive director of Foodrise, called the findings shocking and said Tesco is selling food containing potentially harmful PFAS to millions of customers. She urged the company to stop profiteering on the back of the nation's health and to remove all forever chemicals from its products immediately.
Dr Mohamed Abdallah, chair in environmental chemistry at the University of Birmingham, said it was alarming that PFAS were detected in every single food sample tested. The scientific consensus is clear. These chemicals are associated with pregnancy complications, liver damage, and cancers including kidney, testicular, and thyroid. The risks increase as the chemicals build up in the body over time.
The problem extends beyond Tesco. Campaigners have previously written to Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose urging them to remove PFAS from food packaging. Most of the packaging analyzed contained the chemicals. The Tesco findings suggest the contamination is not limited to packaging but extends into the food itself.
The body burden nobody measures
UK Environment minister Emma Hardy acknowledged in February that the persistent nature of forever chemicals poses a long-term challenge for health and ecosystems. She promised decisive action to reduce harmful effects and transition to safer alternatives. Yet the Foodrise study demonstrates that government plans have not translated into consumer protection.
The most concerning aspect of this contamination is its invisibility. PFAS do not change the taste, smell, or appearance of food. There is no warning label on Tesco cod fillets or whole milk. Consumers who trust the supermarket brand are unknowingly ingesting industrial chemicals with every meal. The chemicals accumulate in blood serum, where they have been detected in virtually every American and European tested, including newborn babies.
The Environmental Working Group has documented that consuming freshwater fish can expose individuals to PFAS levels 280 times higher than commercially sold fish. The Tesco findings now suggest that even supermarket seafood carries a significant burden. The difference is one of degree, not of kind. There is no PFAS-free option on the shelf.
The solution requires action on three fronts. First, industrial discharges of PFAS must be stopped at the source. The UK government must identify and regulate the thousands of facilities that release these chemicals into waterways. Second, food packaging must be reformulated to eliminate PFAS entirely. Third, regulatory limits must be revised to account for cumulative exposure from multiple food sources over a lifetime. Consumers cannot test their own food. They cannot see PFAS. They cannot taste them. They can only trust that regulators and retailers are protecting them.
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