EPA quietly unleashes three toxic ‘forever chemical’ pesticides onto America’s food supply

Under the radar, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved three new PFAS “forever chemical” pesticides for use on crops, including one EPA scientists flagged as having “suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential.”

There was no warning to the farmworkers who will handle these chemicals or the families who will eat the food they’re sprayed on. The EPA published the fast-tracked approvals in the Federal Register in recent days. The hazardous new herbicides – trifludimoxazin,diflufenican and epyrifenacil – can now be sprayed directly on major food crops, including wheat and citrus.

“The EPA’s hands-off approach to pesticide mixtures is leaving families exposed to a cocktail of forever chemicals on their food,” said Varun Subramaniam, a science analyst at the Environmental Working Group.

“We know ultra-short-chain PFAS like TFA [trifluoroacetic acid] are accumulating in the environment and pose potential reproductive risks, yet regulators assess these hazards one by one and without considering the full range of potential health harms.

“The science shows combined chemical exposure can amplify health harms, but the EPA is consistently failing to enforce the extra safety protections legally required to safeguard children during pregnancy and early life,” he added.

The Trump administration is greenlighting forever chemical pesticides at an alarming, unprecedented rate. In less than two years, the EPA has authorized five PFAS pesticides – including cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram – effectively quintupling the pace of the previous administration, which approved just one over four years.

This isn’t just a policy shift; it’s a direct threat to the food supply.

Despite the EPA’s internal data linking these chemicals to animal tumors and persistent water contamination, it quietly posted the approvals without informing the press or the public.

“Allowing an avalanche of new PFAS pesticides onto our fields will never make America healthy again,” said Jared Hayes, senior policy analyst at EWG.

“Contaminating our agricultural fields with persistent forever chemicals does nothing to help the farmers who work tirelessly to feed us. By prioritizing corporate chemical approvals over public health, the EPA is actively undermining both our long-term food security and the very farming communities we rely on,” said Hayes.

Trifludimoxazin is cleared for everyday staples like oats, wheat and fruit. That’s despite EPA data showing the chemical breaks down into 12 persistent PFAS variants and shows “suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential.”

Not content with three new approvals, the EPA wrapped up its overnight blitz by expanding uses for the notorious water-pollutant bifenthrin: a PFAS pesticide already classified as a “possible human carcinogen” by the agency.

In March 2026, EWG found residue of the PFAS pesticide fludioxonil was in 14% of all produce samples and in nearly 90% of peaches and plums, with fluopyram and bifenthrin also ranking among the top 10 most detected chemicals.

Peer-reviewed studies link pesticide exposure to hormone disruption and nervous system harm, potentially undermining the cardiovascular and fertility benefits of a fresh produce diet.

Even with the use of PFAS pesticides on crops, EWG stresses that consumers should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Despite the mounting risk from exposure to these chemicals, the answer isn’t fearing produce – it’s fixing a regulatory system that fails to protect people.

“A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is essential,” said Subramaniam. “Families should enjoy the significant health benefits of consuming produce while making informed choices to reduce pesticide exposure, particularly for children, without sacrificing nutrition.”

This week the EPA also proposed adding six new PFAS, including TFA and other compounds that form from PFAS pesticide use, to the sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. PFAS pesticides are likely a major source of this contamination but the required nationwide testing would not begin until 2028.

PFAS are a group of thousands of human-made chemicals used in a wide range of consumer, industrial and electronic products, in addition to pesticides.

As these chemicals partially break down over time, they can form other harmful compounds, including trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, which is increasingly being detected in the environment, wildlife and people. One study estimates PFAS pesticide use in California could generate between 185,000 and 616,000 pounds of TFA each year.

Emerging research links TFA to reproductive harm and immune suppression, raising growing concerns about its spread and potential health risks.

An EPA analysis noted that 36 PFAS pesticides – 25 of which are registered in California – lack updated developmental and reproductive toxicity tests. Immunotoxicity studies are routinely waived in pesticide applications, despite growing evidence that PFAS chemicals are particularly harmful to the immune system.

“By the time these PFAS residues reach our plates, they have become part of a toxic cocktail that may suppress the immune system and harm reproductive health,” said Subramaniam “That raises serious concerns about the long-term health risks of using these chemicals on food crops.”

“We’re spraying millions of pounds of chemicals on food without understanding their full health impacts or considering what little we do already know. It’s unconscionable,” he added.

A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found PFAS pesticides are increasingly contaminating waterways, posing potential threats to health.

Pesticides containing PFAS are used throughout the country on staple foods such as corn, wheat, kale, spinach, apples and strawberries. They are widely used for residential use in flea treatments for pets and in insect-killing sprays.

Very low doses of PFAS have been linked to suppression of the immune system. Studies show exposure to PFAS can also increase the risk of cancer,harm fetal development and reduce vaccine effectiveness.

Some of the most sensitive harms from PFAS are to the human immune system, such as weakened antibody response to vaccinations and increased risk of infectious disease. But since 2012 it has been common for the EPA to waive immunotoxicity study requirements for pesticides, which limits the agency’s ability to detect such harms.

This means the EPA is missing key, not fringe, health effects when considering the harms of PFAS pesticide exposure in regulatory decisions.

Some states are stepping up where the federal government is failing to act.

California – the nation’s “salad bowl” because of the huge amount of produce it grows that feeds Americans – is weighing a bill targeting the rampant use of the PFAS pesticides. Assembly Bill 1603 by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank) would monitor and report the use of PFAS pesticides in the state. EWG is co-sponsoring the bill, along with other health advocacy groups.

The legislative push follows a damning EWG analysis of state data exposing the sheer scale of the contamination crisis across California:

• Contaminated produce: PFAS pesticide residues were detected on 37% of California-grown non-organic produce samples, including a staggering nine out of 10 samples of peaches, nectarines and plums.
  
  
• Polluted waterways: Mirroring the food data, PFAS pesticides were found in up to 50% of California surface water samples and roughly half of all tested sediment samples.
  
  
• Massive environmental footprint: Between 2018 and 2023 alone, mega-farms and local growers applied 15 million pounds of PFAS pesticides across all 58 California counties.
  
  

EWG is calling on the EPA to reverse course immediately and stop approving new PFAS pesticides while the science of cumulative, low-dose exposure remains poorly understood.

Specifically, regulators must:

• Halt new PFAS pesticide approvals until cumulative and immunotoxic risks are fully assessed.
  
  
• Mandate immunotoxicity testing for every PFAS active and inert ingredient, no more waivers.
  
  
• Treat persistence itself as grounds for regulation, regardless of a chemical’s individual toxicity profile.
  
  
• Assess cumulative impacts from the fluorinated byproducts shared across multiple pesticide products.
  
  
• Expand environmental and biomonitoring programs to cover all PFAS pesticides, not just a fraction.
  
  
• Require full disclosure of “inert” ingredients on all pesticide labels.
  
  
• End the practice of fluorinating plastic pesticide containers, a known contamination source.
  
  

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.