17 December 2025
The independent PFAS scientific advisory panel with the Government of Jersey has
today published the results of testing on PFAS levels in food and the environment. The
panel has also published its interim report 4, in which it outlines the weekly tolerable
intake of PFAS in food and water as identified by global science.
These tests give us an accurate idea of the levels of PFAS across the Island and in the
food supply for the first time. PFAS in food and water is one of the main exposure
pathways for humans. PFAS is everywhere in the global environment and some levels
are to be expected in food in every country.
In the Jersey testing programme, many samples were below detectable levels completely,
with the overwhelming majority of food samples found to have PFAS levels well below
relevant EU maximum levels:
- Jersey Royal and maincrop potatoes were all below the EU indicative level for
concern, with only one exception from the plume area which tested slightly
higher, and 50% of samples across the Island below detectable levels completely
- Jersey milk across the range were measured below detectable levels (a single
sample of whole milk showed a slightly elevated level, but resampling suggests
this was an anomaly as the resamples were all below detectable levels)
- Jersey eggs all contained levels less than 50% of EU maximum permitted level
- Jersey fish and seafood, including oysters, crab, lobster, scallops and black
bream results were all well below the EU maximum levels, with the highest being
just 20% of the EU maximum level
- Jersey beef and pork meat samples were well below EU maximum level, the
highest of which was slightly higher than 10% of the EU maximum level. Offal, in
all but one case, was well below EU maximum levels. The exception was pork
liver which was found to contain high levels which exceeded the EU maximum
level.
The panel found that globally, PFAS levels in food are generally reducing, and it is
becoming clear that the levels in food added to the levels in water in Jersey put less PFAS
into people’s bodies than the European guidelines. That is good news, according to the
panel, and suggests that PFAS in people’s bodies now are more likely to be related to
exposure levels in the past.
Soil samples from multiple locations across the Island showed that outside the known
plume area linked to the historic use of firefighting foam at the airport, PFAS levels are
at or near background level – indicating that the Island doesn’t have a wider
environmental PFAS issue.
The panel also published its draft recommendations for managing PFAS in the
environment. The Minister for the Environment will study those recommendations and
respond in February 2026.
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce said: “These test results are very
reassuring. They show our food supply is safe and that PFAS levels in our agricultural
produce are very low – and in many cases undetectable.
“The soil tests show that PFAS has not spread beyond the known plume area around
the airport, and that Jersey does not have a wider PFAS issue.
“I’m grateful to the independent scientific panel for their ongoing work to help us
better understand the issue of PFAS in Jersey and what we can do to tackle it. I will
study their recommendations carefully and respond in February 2026.”
The PFAS Testing and other documents can be found at PFAS in Jersey.
gov.je