Analysis of selected perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in beer to evaluate the effect of beer consumption on human PFAS exposure: a pilot study

This report describes the development of a method for the determination and quantification of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in beer. A total of 93 beer samples were analyzed for the presence of PFASs by means of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The results of this study have made it possible to calculate possible PFAS uptake via beer as well as the potential PFAS-related health risk as a result of beer consumption with regard to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of perfluoro-n-octanoic acid (PFOA) (1,500 ng/kg bodyweight and day) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (150 ng/kg bodyweight and day). PFOS concentrations above the limit of quantification were detected in 50 % of the samples. The highest PFOS concentration detected in any of the beers was 18.4 ng/L, and the highest PFOA concentration was 56.9 ng/L. The calculated maximum uptake of both substances for which a TDI level exists were 2.44 ng/kg bodyweight/day for PFOA and 0.79 ng/kg bodyweight/day for PFOS assuming that an adult consumed his/her total daily liquid uptake exclusively by drinking 3 L of beer, equivalent to the maximum measured concentration (worst-case scenario). In regard to the model calculations made here, the maximum uptake of PFOA and PFOS via consumption of beer can be considered negligible at 0.85 % of the concentration that would be required to reach the TDI for PFOS and 0.16 % for PFOA.