Keeping Pace With PFAS Regulation: Analytical Strategies for Food Testing Laboratories

As EU legislation on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) shifts from monitoring individual compounds toward managing them as a chemical class, food testing laboratories face growing analytical demands. Darina Dvořáková of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague discusses recent regulatory milestones and the challenges of ultratrace PFAS analysis in food, including background contamination, matrix effects, isomer separation, and the lack of authentic standards. She also explains how tiered workflows combining targeted liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), the total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay, and extractable organic fluorine (EOF) measurements could balance comprehensiveness with routine practicality.