# Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Levels in Commercial and Home-Produced Eggs in Croatia

## TL;DR

This study measured PFAS levels in Croatian eggs and found home-produced eggs had higher contamination, posing a higher risk to children.

## Contribution

The study compares PFAS levels in commercial and home-produced eggs in Croatia, identifying home-produced eggs as a higher exposure risk.

## Key findings

- Home-produced eggs had higher detection frequencies of PFOS, PFNA, PFDA, and PFDoDA compared to commercial eggs.
- Home-produced eggs showed significantly higher mean PFAS levels than cage-produced eggs.
- Children under nine years old are most vulnerable to PFAS exposure from home-produced eggs.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) levels in eggs collected in Croatia and to identify differences between commercially produced eggs (cage, barn, and organic) and home-produced eggs (HPE). Thirty PFAS compounds were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. In HPE, the highest detection frequencies above the limit of quantification were observed for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) at 67.6%, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) at 43.2%, perfluoro-n-decanoic acid (PFDA) at 43.2%, and perfluoro-n-dodecanoic acid (PFDoDA) at 35.8%. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was detected only in HPE. Furthermore, HPE exhibited significantly higher mean lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) levels for all measured compounds, as well as for the sum of the four main PFAS (∑4PFAS: PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid [PFHxS]), with values of 0.263 and 0.44 µg/kg, respectively. Cage eggs showed the lowest LB and UB levels. The dietary contribution of ∑4PFAS to the established tolerable weekly intake (TWI) limit of 4.4 ng/kg bw indicated that children up to nine years old are the most vulnerable to exposure, particularly infants and toddlers consuming HPE. Significantly lower exposure was observed with cage eggs; therefore, consumers are advised to prefer these eggs.