The analysis of 252 food samples (UK-produced and imported) purchased from a variety of retail outlets in the UK was undertaken for the presence of perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and nine other perfluorocompounds (PFCs). A limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1 microg/kg was achieved for all target analytes, in all samples. Standard addition was used for quantification of PFC levels. All 11 of the targeted PFCs were detected in 75 individual food items. In 70% of the samples, including all meat other than offal, none of the analytes were present above the LOD. The highest levels found were 59 microg/kg perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS) and 63 microg/kg total PFCs (SigmaPFCs) in an eel sample, and 40 microg/kg PFOS (62 microg/kg SigmaPFCs) in a whitebait sample. The highest level in an offal sample was 10 microg/kg, in a wild roe deer liver. There were six samples with SigmaPFCs >15 microg/kg (fish, shellfish, crustaceans), a further seven samples with SigmaPFCs ranging 11-15 microg/kg (including a liver), nine with SigmaPFCs ranging 6-10 microg/kg (fish and livers), 31 with SigmaPFCs in the range 2-5 microg/kg (including kidneys, popcorn and processed peas) and a further 22 with SigmaPFCs close to the LOD of 1 microg/kg (including eggs and potatoes). These concentrations indicate that UK consumers are being exposed to a low level of PFC contamination from food. The estimated upper bound dietary intake of 10 ng/kg bodyweight (bw)/day of PFOS for average adult consumers is well below the 0.15 microg (150 ng)/kg bw tolerable daily intake (TDI) set by the European Food Safety Authority. The lower bound adult dietary intake estimate of 1 ng/kg bw/day is similar to estimates undertaken and reported in countries such as Canada, Germany and Spain.

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Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) experiments are described, leading to a reliable method for the measurement of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and other perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in foods. Separations were performed on new fluorinated stationary phases, RP Octyl (-C(8)F(17)) or propyl-perfluorobenzene (-C(3)H(6)-C(6)F(5)), to ensure resolution of PFOS and interfering taurohydroxycholate isomers. Aqueous ammonium formate (5 mM) and methanol were used as the mobile phases. The mass spectrometer was operated in negative electrospray ionisation mode, recording two transitions for each analyte and one for each internal standard. The purities of the analytical standards for the eleven target perfluoro analytes (C(7) to C(12) carboxylic acids, C(4), C(6) and C(8) sulfonic acids, and octanesulfonamide (PFOSA)) were found to be in close agreement with the supplied values; the lowest purity was 91%. Five candidate internal standards were investigated, (13)C(4)-PFOS, (13)C(4)-perfluorooctanoic acid, (13)C(2)-perfluorodecanoic acid, D(9)-n-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamidoethanol (D(9)-n-Et-FOSE) and D(3)-n-methylperfluorooctanesulfonamide (D(3)-n-Me-FOSA); the purities were all >98%. The use of tetrahydro-PFOS generated backgrounds (>1 microg/kg) for perfluoroheptanoic acid and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid. Similarly D(9)-n-Et-FOSE was unacceptable and D(3)-n-Me-FOSA was volatile, leaving no clear candidate for normalisation of the measurement of PFOSA. Severe matrix-induced suppression and enhancement effects influenced ionisation, making external calibration and quantification problematic. This was addressed by a parallel standard addition and matrix-matching approach, comparing ionisation in methanol, in procedural blanks and in food-based extracts. The limits of detection (LODs) of 0.001-0.01 microg/kg in solvent and 0.01-1 microg/kg in foods demonstrate that this method is suitable for the determination of PFCs in all food to the required 1 microg/kg reporting level.

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