Pfas in wine 100 times higher than in drinking water

Among the rows that draw the Tuscan hills, on the terraces that accompany the bends of the Moselle, in the neat vineyards spread across the plains of Tokaj, wine has been telling a story made of land, culture, and memory for centuries. Casting a shadow over the wine sector is now the Message from the bottle report by the Pesticide action network (Pan) Europe , which analyzed 49 wines, 10 of which are ancient, that is, marketed before 1988, and 39 recent, produced between 2021 and 2024, five of which are organic. The bottles examined come from ten European countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Spain and also Italy.

Austrian wines are the most contaminated

While no contaminants were found in older wines, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was detected in wines released on the market in recent years. This compound is derived from the degradation of pesticides containing PFAs ( Perfluorinated alkylated substances) and fluorinated gases used in industrial refrigerants. The average concentration of the substances was 122 micrograms per litre, with a peak of 320 micrograms, a value approximately one hundred times higher than the already high average levels found in drinking water.

The most contaminated wines were Austrian, with an average of 156 micrograms of Tfa per liter, followed in order by French and Belgian wines. Some wines from our peninsula are not immune to impurities, including Chianti with 120 micrograms of Tfa per liter, Prosecco with 69 micrograms and Kalterersee , with 43 micrograms. And even organic bottles are not free from contamination, since they all contain the compound.

Previous research

The new report has, in fact, confirmed and updated a study conducted in 2017 by researchers at the Laboratory of the CVUA (Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt, Office of Chemical and Veterinary Research) in Stuttgart, Germany, on behalf of the European Commission. At the time, 27 wines were analyzed, in which a median concentration of 50 micrograms of TFA per liter was detected, with a peak of 120 micrograms.

Damage to health too

Since the introduction of TFA in the industrial sector, companies have strenuously maintained that it was harmless to both the environment and health. A myth that has survived for decades, but now shattered by some analyses that highlight the negative effects on soil pH and plants, especially considering its persistence and long-term accumulation. Furthermore, research published in 2021 showed that this contaminant caused severe malformations in rabbit fetuses, affecting both the skeleton and the eyes. Since then, the suspicion has been that it could also pose a risk to human reproduction.

Pesticides are present in 94% of wines

The document on Tfa also includes an in-depth analysis of pesticides in general. Well, in 94% of traditionally produced wines, up to eight pesticides were found, while the analysis as a whole identified 18 distinct active ingredients. Organic wines fare better: four out of five were, in fact, free of agrochemicals.

Helmut Burtscher-Schaden , environmental chemist at the organisation Global 2000 and the author of the study, calls the results “alarming”, while Salome Roynel, policy officer at Pan Europe, adds: “The data are worrying, so substances that release TFA must be withdrawn from the market without delay”.

Cristina Guarda , MEP for Europa Verde, added: “The big chemical industry is also poisoning wine, in addition to the food that reaches our tables. And given that our country is the leading wine producer globally, we should consider it a national emergency. We also ask the European Union to take urgent action to protect farmers, our health and that of consumers around the world”.