Can PFAS in biosolids used as farm fertilizer contaminate your food?

What's actually in it

Biosolids are treated sewage sludge spread on farmland as fertilizer. They contain nutrients that help crops grow, but they also carry PFAS that came from household products, industrial waste, and cleaning chemicals that went down the drain. When biosolids are spread on fields, PFAS get into the soil and are taken up by crops.

What the research says

A 2026 report in the Lancet Oncol examined PFAS levels in biosolids used on U.S. farmland and found that the contamination could pose cancer risks through the food supply. PFAS from biosolids enter crops, livestock feed, and eventually the meat, dairy, and produce people eat.

The report noted that millions of acres of U.S. farmland have received biosolid applications. Since PFAS don't break down, they accumulate in soil over years of repeated application, creating a growing reservoir of "forever chemicals" that keep entering the food chain.

Choose organic produce when possible, since organic farms don't use biosolids as fertilizer. Support brands that test their products for PFAS contamination. Filter your drinking water, as PFAS from farm runoff can also reach water supplies.