Fish-based pet foods sold across Asia, the United States, and Europe contain levels of PFAS chemicals that exceed the daily intake thresholds the European Food Safety Agency sets for humans, according to new research published in Environmental Pollution.
The study, led by Kei Nomiyama at Ehime University in Japan, tested 100 commercially available pet food products marketed in Japan between 2018 and 2020, including 48 dog foods and 52 cat foods. Researchers measured concentrations of 34 distinct PFAS compounds across both wet and dry varieties, then calculated estimated daily intake figures based on typical meal sizes and body weights for each species.
Fish Products Carry the Highest Loads
Fish-based cat foods showed the most pronounced contamination, with a fish-based wet food manufactured in Thailand registering the highest levels recorded in the study. The pattern is consistent with how these chemicals behave in aquatic environments. “The ocean often acts as a final sink for many synthetic chemicals,” Nomiyama said. “In simple terms, PFAS can move through and concentrate within aquatic food webs.”
Dog foods told a more varied story. Japanese grain-based products ranked among the highest for PFAS, which researchers attribute to possible agricultural runoff or fish byproducts used as protein sources. Meat-based dog foods generally registered low levels, with one Japanese brand and two Australian brands containing no detectable PFAS at all.
What the Thresholds Actually Mean Here
The European Food Safety Agency declined to comment on the specific findings, but stated that its proposed human intake limits should not be directly applied to risk assessments for other animals. Nomiyama accepts that distinction but argues the data still points to abnormally elevated exposure. Risk assessment frameworks specific to companion animals, he says, need to be developed.
PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals used across a broad range of industrial and consumer products. They persist in the environment for hundreds to thousands of years. In humans, sustained exposure correlates with increased risk of liver damage and certain cancers. Research in cats has linked specific PFAS to diseases affecting the liver, thyroid, kidneys, and respiratory system, though the evidence base for pets remains thin.
A Gap in Monitoring, Not a Crisis
“Our findings do not indicate an immediate health emergency, but they do highlight a knowledge gap,” Nomiyama said. He advises pet owners concerned about exposure to pay attention to ingredient labels and vary protein sources rather than relying on a single type.
Håkon Austad Langberg at Akvaplan-niva, a Norwegian nonprofit research institute, called the results unsurprising. “The larger problem is that PFAS are everywhere, and both people and animals are exposed from multiple sources,” he said. “These compounds are found across environmental media and in numerous products, resulting in cumulative exposure for people and animals alike.”
Nomiyama frames the issue in broader terms. “Companion animals share our environment and, in many ways, act as sentinels of chemical exposure,” he said. “Understanding contaminant levels in pet food is not only a matter of animal health but also contributes to our broader understanding of environmental pollution pathways.”
He is calling for more globally coordinated monitoring of contaminants in pet products, arguing that regional differences in PFAS levels likely reflect historical production patterns and sourcing of raw materials across different markets.
Photo by Steve Tsang on Unsplash
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