Toxicologist warns: “Do not eat fish from the Western Scheldt, the PFAS values ​​are much too high”

If the amount of PFAS in fish is set against the European health limits bar, eating 150 grams of this fish will give you more than twenty times the permitted weekly level of PFAS.

In addition, FBSA was measured separately on the substance, a substance which is used to give products a water and stain resistant coating, and which accumulates in the lungs. This analysis was even higher, namely 53 nanograms per gram of fish. But Hoogenboom does not want to draw any conclusions: “There are still too few data on the effects of FBSA in the body, and therefore no medical limit values. We know that PFAS takes longer to break down than FBSA, so you can’t just compare values.”

“With that information in mind, I wouldn’t eat Western Scheldt fish,” says Hoogenboom, “I don’t know if many anglers do, but I would advise against it.” According to him, it has never happened before that such high levels of PFAS have been found in bone. High values ​​have already been measured in eels and some freshwater fish. According to Hoogenboom, research with children has shown that PFAS may weaken the immune system, but it’s not yet clear when it comes to the exact dangers of the substances.