The RTS had 13 bottles of natural mineral water sold in French-speaking Switzerland analyzed. Ten of them contain TFA, a micropollutant from the PFAS family. In the absence of official limits, producers want to be reassuring. But the investigation by the program On en parole shows that the ideal of perfectly pure mineral water is increasingly difficult to achieve.
Trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, is a synthetic molecule that is part of the PFAS family, or perennial pollutants. On its website, the Federal Office for the Environment details the origins of this TFA which is found in groundwater in Switzerland: phytosanitary products, refrigerant fluids from air conditioning and refrigerators and industrial wastewater. Result: TFAs are found in groundwater in Switzerland on a large scale.
10 bottles out of 13 affected
The RTS had 13 bottles of mineral water sold on a large scale in French-speaking Switzerland analyzed by the Water Service of the City of Lausanne. 10 are affected by the TFA.
>> To consult: the results of the On en speak test “of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in natural mineral waters”: Results table
Only Cristallo, Denner and Saskia mineral waters are below the laboratory quantification threshold of 0.1 microgram per liter.
Three waters are at the limit of the threshold: Aquata, Evian and Saguaro. The result of Saguaro water is disputed by its producer Mineralquelle Eptingen. According to the company, which carried out a second assessment on the same batch as that of the RTS, its controls never detected TFA.
Aproz mineral water contains 0.2 micrograms per liter, followed by San Pellegrino and M-Budget with 0.3 micrograms. Swiss Alpina, Valser and Price Guarantee contain 0.4 micrograms per liter. But it is in Henniez water that there is the most TFA, with 0.8 micrograms per liter.
Distributors and producers respond
Contacted by We talk about it, producers and distributors affirm that mineral water can continue to be consumed peacefully. Nestlé Waters, which distributes Henniez water, reacts: “Henniez natural mineral waters can and have always been consumed with confidence. Scientific studies and current health recommendations confirm that the concentrations of TFA present in the water natural mineral are significantly below levels that could be harmful to human health.”
In the same spirit, the Swiss Association of Mineral Water Sources makes a calculation based on a European publication from EFSA from 2018. According to it, a person weighing 60 kg should drink 3750 liters of water per day to arrive at a perhaps problematic threshold.
-Other more worried voices
On September 30, 2024, the program On en parole interviewed Salomé Roynel, lawyer with Pesticide Action Network, an NGO based in Brussels. She considered that the danger of TFA, among all PFAS, was underestimated, in particular for a technical reason: “TFA is part of a family of PFAS whose toxicity has been underestimated. It is a PFAS with short molecular chain, unlike other PFAS The industry has argued that short molecular chain PFAS are very low toxicity. But the more these substances are used, the more we realize that all PFAS cause similar concern. regarding risks to human health.
>> Also consult:: TFA: The eternal pollutant that we are starting to talk about a lot
In addition, a study noted by the NGO Pan Europe found that rabbits in contact with TFA experienced reproductive difficulties.
A little-known molecule
Today, the danger of TFA for human health remains unknown. Research and legislation on this subject are less advanced than with other micropollutants. If the standards concerning chlorothalonil pesticide residues are very strict in Switzerland today, they do not yet exist for TFA.
Last year, cantonal chemists requested guidelines from the Confederation. But the latter, via its Office of Food and Veterinary Affairs (OSAV), is awaiting European decisions before taking a position. The WHO is also expected to issue recommendations.
For the moment, there are only a few indicative values circulating in Europe. NGOs, such as PAN Europe, are strongly campaigning for precaution. The German Federal Environment Office opts for a high limit value, 60 micrograms per liter. This is the figure that Swiss mineral water distributors Migros, Aldi and Lidl readily cite in their responses.
Radio subject: Mathieu Truffer and Bastien von Wyss
Web adaptation: Myriam Semaani
Related News :