Flufenacet, a top-selling PFAS Bayer and BASF pesticide, is harmful to humans and the environment, according to the latest scientific opinion of the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The herbicide acts as an endocrine disruptor, affects brain development and releases the major water contaminant, Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA). Its widespread use on common crops puts both farmers and consumers at risk. A coalition of 49 environmental and health organisations is now urging the European Commission and Member States to immediately ban flufenacet, as should have been done long ago.
EFSA’s conclusions identify flufenacet as an endocrine disruptor that impacts thyroid-stimulating hormones [1]. This thyroid disruption may affect brain development placing pregnant women and newborns at unnecessary risk. Flufenacet is also a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) which degrades into ‘TFA’, a persistent and highly mobile PFAS contaminating Europe’s water systems, including our most pristine waters [2]. With TFA proposed for classification as toxic for reproduction, its presence in groundwater and drinking water should not exceed the regulatory limit of 0.1 µg/L—a threshold that is greatly surpassed, according to EFSA. Recently a group of scientists concluded that the TFA in our drinking water meets the criteria of a planetary boundary threat for novel entities [3].
Flufenacet has been approved for over 20 years due to repeated prolongations and delays from the pesticide industry to provide safety data. It is primarily used as an herbicide on winter crops such as wheat, barley and rye and is currently authorised in 25 Member States. Its sales doubled or even tripled over the past 10 years in several Member States including France, Germany, and Belgium, making it one of the most widely sold PFAS pesticides in Europe [4].
“The facts are undeniable—flufenacet poses significant risks to human health, wildlife, and our drinking water. We urge the European Commission and Member States to ban it now, before more damage is done. Continuing to allow its use is reckless and unacceptable since it results in a day-to-day increase in TFA contamination of water resources,” states Salome Roynel, policy officer at PAN Europe.
The 49 organisations are calling on the European Commission and Member States to use all regulatory pathways to prohibit the substance as quickly as possible. This includes adopting a non-renewal regulation at the upcoming Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed meeting in December 2024, and initiating procedures to withdraw all the national authorisation of flufenacet-based products. Given the significant risks posed by the substance, the coalition insists that no grace period be granted for the sale or use of flufenacet products.
Pesticide producer BAYER defends the use and sales of Flufenacet and tries to ignore the problems by stating that it is safe [5].
Letter to the European Commission
Letter to ministeries in EU Member States
Contact: Salome Roynel, Policy Officer: salome [at] pan-europe.info
Notes:
[1] European Food Safety Authority, Peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance flufenacet, September 2024.
[2] PAN Europe, TFA in Water: Dirty PFAS Legacy Under the Radar, May 2024; PAN Europe, TFA: The Forever Chemical in the Water We Drink, July 2024.
[3] The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA), Hans Peter H. Arp, Andrea Gredelj, Juliane Glüge, Martin Scheringer and Ian T. Cousins, 30 October 2024.
[4] PAN Europe, Bayer and BASF: A business model that pollutes our drinking water?, July 2024.
[5] Bayer: Flufenacet absolut sicher, Top Agrar, 2 november 2024.
