A surprising percentage of produce from the nation’s largest supplier contains ‘forever’ pesticides

Nearly 40% of California-grown nonorganic produce has residues from pesticides made from potentially toxic PFAS chemicals that can remain in the body for years.

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(CNN) — Nearly 40% of nonorganic fruits and vegetables grown in California contain traces of pesticides that are also PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” according to a new investigation.

California supplies nearly half of the vegetables and more than three-quarters of the fruits and nuts eaten in the United States.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are called “forever chemicals” because their strong carbon to fluoride molecular bonds can take years to decades — even centuries— to completely break down in the environment. It’s estimated there are nearly 15,000 types of fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, in existence today.

“The PFAS pesticide is the active ingredient in these products because it’s effective at killing things — which is the very reason why it’s so concerning to public health and the environment at large,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for California operations for the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a health advocacy organization that produced the report published Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to contain the harm,” Del Chiaro said. “We can’t just harm the mold spores or insects on a peach and not potentially harm the little kid that eats the peach. The fact that we’re intentionally spraying forever chemicals on the produce we’re buying at the grocery store is a real eye-opener.”

Manufactured since the 1940s to make products nonstick, stain-resistant and water-repellent, legacy PFAS have been linked to cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility, liver damage, hormone disruption and damage to the immune system, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Several of these chemicals can cause harm at levels of a billionth of a gram.

Newer PFAS pesticides also show worrisome impacts on human cells and animal reproductive and nervous systems, although levels of exposure are hard to determine. For example, fludioxonil, which is added to produce after harvest to stop mold and mildew, has killed human cells and damaged DNA in laboratory tests.

“Because there’s not going to be any rain to wash that PFAS pesticide off, it does get a little worrisome,” said Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy nonprofit dedicated to preserving endangered species based in Tucson, Arizona.

“These are the foods that actually give us nutrition and what we feed our children, so this is the last place you’d want to see that type of contamination,” said Donley, who was not involved in the EWG analysis. “And I think most people don’t have a clue this is happening.”

The EWG report found the highest levels of fludioxonil on lemons, at over 1 part per million, followed by peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, blueberries and apricots. In addition, fludioxonil was found on 90% of the tested samples of nectarines, peaches and plums.

“The European Food Safety Authority also considers fludioxonil to be an endocrine-disrupting chemical that has harmed the reproductive system in animals,” said report coauthor Varun Subramaniam, a science analyst at EWG.

In response, the EPA told CNN in an email that “EPA evaluates every new and existing pesticide with gold-standard science to ensure the products on the market keep Americans and our food supply safe and healthy with no unreasonable risk of harm. Fungicides, like Fludioxonil, keep America’s food supply safe, abundant, and affordable.”

Despite health and environmental concerns, the use of PFAS pesticides in the United States has been growing over the last few decades, Donley said.

“The new generation of pesticides are PFAS, and it’s genuinely frightening,” he said. “At a time when most industries are transitioning away from PFAS, the pesticide industry is doubling down. We’re definitely moving in the wrong direction.”

CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry, told CNN in an email that some pesticides are “purposefully fluorinated” to achieve improved durability, resistance to heat and water, better adherence to leaf surfaces, and stronger protection against pests.

“All pesticides, regardless of chemical composition, are subject to the same rigorous scientific review and data requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and EPA’s implementing regulations and policies,” the statement said.

Combinations of PFAS chemicals

Using 2023 testing data gathered by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the EWG analysis found 17 different PFAS pesticides on 40 of 78 types of nonorganic fruits and vegetables. All told, 37% of 930 samples contained chemicals of concern, the report said.

Bifenthrin, which attacks an insect’s nervous system and is considered a possible human carcinogen, was found on strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, collards, celery, bok choy and green beans, according to the report. Penthiopyrad, which stops fungal respiration and is toxic to aquatic life, was found on strawberries, peaches, plums, green beans, celery, carrots and bell peppers. Lambda-cyhalothrin, which starves insects and is lethal to honeybees, was found on cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, lettuce and broccoli.

Finding multiple forever chemicals on each type of produce was common, according to the testing. Strawberries, for example, were contaminated with 10 different PFAS pesticides. Cherries and peaches contained seven different chemicals — grapes, celery and collards six — and spinach had five.

“What we know about pesticides and PFAS is that the sum is often greater than its parts,” Subramaniam said. “Being exposed to a cocktail of pesticides is often a lot more dangerous than being exposed to each of them in the same amounts individually.”

The US Environmental Agency evaluates pesticides by comparing potential benefits of producing more crops to any health harms, often deciding that levels of pesticide exposure to humans is quite small, Donley said.

“Yet the EPA is not looking at what happens when a human is exposed to 10 of these pesticides in their diet for 20 years straight,” he said. “That’s a big question mark, because no one knows, not even EPA, because these complex mixtures have never been tested before.”

Adding more PFAS pesticides, not less

To date, the Trump administration has approved two PFAS pesticides for use on lettuce, oranges, tomatoes, almonds, peas, and oats and is considering approving a third PFAS pesticide to fight weeds in corn, soybean and wheat crops. In late February, the EPA also announced it is considering an emergency exemption without safety review for the use of a PFAS pesticide on rice.

One reason that’s happening is because the EPA does not consider new single-fluorinated carbon pesticides as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” even though they are defined as such by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development — the United States is a founding member.

The OECD’s definition has been endorsed by more than 150 leading PFAS researchers, is used by the European Union and nearly half of US states, and was specifically written into past versions of the National Defense Authorization Act.

“OECD is not a regulatory body and has no purview here whatsoever,” a spokesperson for the EPA told CNN. In addition, EPA’S rejection of a single-fluorinated carbon as PFAS “is rooted in gold standard scientific review and supports the agency’s statutory obligations to protect human health and the environment.”

Many of the chemicals that do not meet the EPA’s definition of PFAS are “incredibly persistent,” Donley said. “Carbon tetrafluoride, for example, has an atmospheric half-life of 50,000 years, and TFA is thought to have an aqueous half-life of several hundreds of years.”

Trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, occurs when PFAS, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other industrial chemicals biodegrade, and it is “increasing irreversibly,” around the world, according to a 2024 review. The long-lasting chemical damaged livers and was toxic to reproduction in animal studies and has already been found in human blood, yet little research has been done on the dangers to human health.

Regardless, TFA is present globally in soil and drinking water and has bioaccumulated in plants. Today, the extent that TFA concentrations are “orders of magnitude higher” than those of other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and TFA is fast becoming a threat to the planet, the 2024 review concluded.

Avoiding PFAS pesticides

Avoiding all PFAS is difficult — they have been added for decades to popcorn bags, pizza boxes, nonstick pans, household cleaning products, dental floss, cosmetics, shampoos, sunscreens and water- and stain-resistant clothing, carpeting and upholstery — and the list goes on. Due to their long half-lives, even legacy PFAS that have been phased out or banned persist in soil and drinking water.

In fact, various PFAS chemicals have been detected in the blood of 98% of Americans and can be stored for years in different organs in the body, according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

When it comes to avoiding newer PFAS pesticides, organic produce contains fewer chemicals and is an excellent option when possible, said Stephanie Eick, assistant professor of environmental health and epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta.

“If you can’t afford organic, it’s best to thoroughly rinse produce under running water and use a brush on sturdier items like carrots, potatoes and cucumbers,” said Eick, who was not involved in the EWG study.

All produce, even organic, should be washed before peeling so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from a knife onto the fruit or vegetable. After washing, dry with a clean cloth or paper towel, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

There is no need to use bleach, soap or a produce wash — fruits and vegetables are porous and can absorb those chemicals, the FDA said.

Remove the outermost leaves of cabbage, lettuce and other leafy greens and rinse each leaf carefully — but don’t blast your greens with water, or you’ll bruise them. Experts said it’s best to use low-pressure water that is warmer than your produce and a colander to spin the greens dry. Don’t forget to wash the colander afterward. Exceptions are “triple-washed” bagged greens, which the FDA said do not need an additional wash.

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