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Animal Health and Food Safety Workgroup

A farmhouse, red barn, and silos surrounded by farm fields

Animal Health and Food Safety Workgroup

Mission

 

To ensure food safety and protect human and animal health through the identification and reduction of PFAS in food and feed crops.

 

This Michigan PFAS Action Team (MPART) workgroup is led by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and consists of staff from MDARD, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 

Contact

Christine Kosmowski
PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Specialist

Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)

Recent Accomplishments

  • Samples of animal-feed row crops were collected from several agricultural fields in three counties known to have PFAS industrially impacted biosolids or PFAS-contaminated irrigation water applied to the land. Sampling was coordinated with EGLE, whose staff conducted sampling of ponds/streams, groundwater, and soil at some of these locations.
  • Coordinated with state and federal agencies to process and analyze crop samples for PFAS.
  • Developed a preliminary risk assessment model, which suggested concerns about PFOS levels in beef from animals grazing and consuming feed grown on farm fields where industrially impacted biosolids were applied.
  • Collaborated on investigations on PFAS uptake in cattle, including appropriate sampling design and consultations with other states also investigating this issue.

Next Steps

  • Coordinate with state and federal agencies to evaluate standard protocols and methods for crop-specific sample preparation and PFAS analysis.
  • Continue to identify, determine, and mitigate food safety and animal and human health risks associated with any newly identified location potentially impacted by PFAS.
  • Coordinate with the MPART Human Health Workgroup to determine homegrown produce evaluation needs.
  • Coordinate with other state agencies to understand the risks associated with the land application of materials (biosolids and industrial sludges) containing PFAS compounds.
  • Evaluate the cattle investigation data for potential improvement of the predictive model for PFAS concentrations.

Information Needed

  • Questions that are yet to be answered and are being investigated:
    • What are predicted PFAS concentrations in crops, garden vegetables and fruits, livestock, and livestock products, that may be impacted by various amounts of PFAS in soil, water, and materials (biosolids and industrial sludges)?
    • What are the potential human health risks of food or feed crops that contain PFAS and are there acceptable levels?

Timeline of Accomplishments

  • In 2018 and 2019, crop samples were collected from several agricultural fields in three counties known to have PFAS industrially impacted biosolids or PFAS-contaminated irrigation water applied to the land.
  • In the fall of 2021, the crop sample analysis for PFAS and interpretation of the results were completed.
  • In the fall of 2021, a preliminary risk assessment model was developed, that factored crop consumption and grazing into the uptake of animals.
  • Collaboration on investigations on PFAS uptake in cattle, including appropriate sampling design and consultations with other states also investigating this issue has continued into 2023.