Canton of St. Gallen stops sale of PFAS-contaminated foodstuffs
Published: Wednesday, Aug 28th 2024, 10:10
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The canton of St. Gallen has measured high PFAS levels in the meat of some cows and cattle. It stopped the sale of the food in question. The St. Gallen government is calling for a national action plan to deal with these persistent chemicals.
According to a statement from the State Chancellery on Wednesday, the canton suspects that in many cases the cause of the contaminated agricultural land is sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants. Until 2006, this was allowed to be spread on agricultural land as fertilizer, allowing the chemicals "per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds" (PFAS) to enter the soil.
PFAS are chemicals that are difficult to break down. They have been used industrially for decades, for example in water-repellent rain jackets, Teflon-coated frying pans and fire-fighting foam. These chemicals are released into the environment and can be detected in the food chain and in humans. They pose a potential health risk to humans.
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