A new technical note by North American scientists reported using advanced detection technology to find trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a byproduct of common f-gases and other substances, in 24 beverage samples from Toronto, Ontario, including juices and wine, at microgram-per-liter levels similar to those of previous studies done in Europe.
The study also found other ultrashort- and short-chain PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances), though TFA “dominated in detection frequency and concentration,” it said, adding, “TFA concentrations were at least an order of magnitude higher than the sum of all other [PFAS] detected, with the highest levels observed in fruit- and vegetable-based juice and wine.” PFAS comprise over 10,000 fluorinated compounds, some used in industry that have been identified as major environmental pollutants.
The technical note – “Quantitation of ultrashort- and short-chain PFAS in beverages by a direct injection LC-MS/MS method” – was written by scientists at SCIEX and Phenomenex, both manufacturers of scientific measuring equipment, and at York University. The project was led by Holly Lee, Staff Scientist for SCIEX in Concord Ontario; one of the participants was Cora Young, Professor at York University in Toronto, who has contributed to previous studies on TFA in the environment.
“TFA concentrations were at least an order of magnitude higher than the sum of all other [PFAS] detected, with the highest levels observed in fruit- and vegetable-based juice and wine.”
Technical note from SCIEX, Phenomenex and York University
The scientists used a “direct injection LC-MS/MS (Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry)” method for measuring the quantity of ultrashort- and short-chain PFAS in the beverages. The primary tool was a SCIEX 7500 system, which enabled “the use of dilution and smaller injection volumes to reduce matrix effects” (other substances’ impact).
The study did an interlaboratory analysis of TFA concentrations measured in four samples, comparing the results of SCIEX’s LC-MS/MS method with those from an IC-MS method (Ion Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry) developed at York University. The concentration differences ranged from 8 to 31%, “providing a relatively good corroboration of the TFA levels in these four beverage samples that were measured by two independent techniques,” the study said.
The TFA concentrations detected in juice (0.8–47mcg/L) and wine (39–227mcg/L) are consistent with the levels previously reported in similar studies. For example, a wine study in 10 EU countries conducted by PAN Europe found an average of 122mcg/L in wine samples dated between 2021 and 2024. A Swedish study found microgram levels of TFA in juices and purees, including an average of 34mcg/L ± 20mcg/L in orange juice.
The SCIEX study also found TFA in bottled water (0.2mcg/L), soju (7.2mcg/L) and mixed orange juice/vegetable juice (25mcg/L), among other beverages.
The American Chemistry Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the SCIEX study.
Global pollutant
TFA has been assessed as a global pollutant and a potential threat to human health. Formed in the atmosphere when HFO-1234yf undergoes 100% decomposition over a few weeks, TFA is absorbed in rainfall and infiltrates the environment in surface and groundwater, soil, dust and air. In living things it has been observed in plants (thus its presence in plant-derived beverages), wildlife and human blood.
In addition to being formed by the breakdown of HFO-1234yf and other f-gases, TFA is also a degradation product of pesticides and pharmaceuticals and other PFAS and is found in sewage treatment and industrial releases. The technical note attributed TFA’s status as the dominant PFAS found in beverage samples to its formation from multiple sources.
The toxicity of TFA at low environmental concentrations is still being investigated. On May 26 of this year three German government agencies announced that their assessment of TFA and its trifluoroacetate salts as reproductively toxic, very persistent and very mobile was officially submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). They based this recommendation on studies showing harm done to some rabbit fetuses whose mothers were given 750mg/kg bw/day of TFA for 23 days. For example, 32% of the litters had offspring with multiple folded retinas.
