Does pet food contain PFAS forever chemicals that could harm your dog or cat?

What's actually in it

Pet food comes in cans, pouches, and bags, all of which can contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The chemicals get in through two routes: the packaging itself and the ingredients. Fish-based pet foods pick up PFAS from contaminated waterways. Meat ingredients carry PFAS from animal feed. And the grease-resistant linings inside some packaging add even more.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Environ Pollut tested commercial pet food from multiple brands and found widespread PFAS contamination. The researchers measured several types of PFAS in both wet and dry food products for dogs and cats.

Fish-based products had the highest levels, which makes sense because aquatic animals bioaccumulate PFAS from polluted water. But meat-based and even grain-based foods weren't clean either. The contamination was widespread enough that the researchers concluded most pets eating commercial food are getting a daily dose of forever chemicals.

The study calculated health risk estimates for companion animals and found some products contained PFAS at levels that could affect a pet's liver and immune system over time. Dogs and cats are smaller than humans, so the same amount of contamination represents a bigger dose per pound of body weight.

Your pet can't choose what to eat. They're stuck with whatever you put in their bowl, every meal, every day. The cumulative exposure over a pet's lifetime adds up quickly.