Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42637957›Full record

ArticleArchives of toxicology2026

PFAS: challenges and scientific perspectives in human health risk assessment.

Janine Kowalczyk, Klaus Abraham, Christina August, Runa S Boeddinghaus, James C Y Chan, Alexander Eckhardt, Tony Fletcher, Finnian Freeling, Bernd Göckener, Thorhallur I Halldórsson and 15 more

Abstract read
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Article in Archives of toxicology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

Janine KowalczykDepartment Food and Feed Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Klaus AbrahamDepartment Food and Feed Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Christina AugustDepartment Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Runa S BoeddinghausCentre for Agricultural Technology Augustenberg (LTZ), Karlsruhe, Germany.
James C Y ChanA*STAR Skin Research Labs (A*STAR SRL), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8A Biomedical Grove, #06-06, Immunos, Singapore, 138648, Republic of Singapore.
Alexander EckhardtSection Toxicology of Drinking Water and Swimming Pool Water, German Environment Agency (UBA), Bad Elster Branch, Germany.
Tony FletcherLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Finnian FreelingTZW: DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (German Water Centre), Karlsruhe, Germany.
Bernd GöckenerDepartment Trace Analysis and Environmental Monitoring, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Schmallenberg, Germany.
Thorhallur I HalldórssonFaculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Dorte HerzkeDepartment of Environmental Chemistry and Health Effects, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Tromsø, Norway.
Ron L A P HoogenboomWageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, Netherlands.
Kristina JakobssonOccupational and Environmental Medicine School of Public Health and Community Medicine Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Christian JungDepartment Exposure, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Federica MadiaInternational Agency for Research On Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
Bernhard MonienDepartment Food and Feed Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Jorge NumataDepartment Food and Feed Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Louise RamhøjTechnical University of Denmark, National Food Institute, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Greet SchoetersToxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Katharina SommerkornDepartment Food and Feed Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Xenia TrierDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Periklis TsirosNational Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Christian UnkelbachUnit Evaluation of Chemicals and Risk Assessment, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Dortmund, Germany.
Stefan P J van LeeuwenWageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, Netherlands.
Thorsten BuhrkeDepartment Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany. thorsten.buhrke@bfr.bund.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To review recent advances in research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and outline priority steps for risk assessment in consumer health protection, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) organized the 'International PFAS Conference' in Berlin in October 2025. Building on the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) opinion in 2020, global research activities on PFAS have intensified. The conference was attended by 200 participants from 18 countries and covered topics such as analytical methods, human exposure, toxicokinetics, toxicity, and future perspectives. Given that there are more than 21,000 different PFAS in use, discussions highlighted the need for further data collection and a basis for prioritizing substances. Robust exposure assessment requires improved analytical methods combined with newly developed predictive tools to quantify, identify, and make better use of non-target data. Hazard characterization may benefit from the combined use of classic experimental data sets, epidemiological data, and new approach methodologies (NAMs) data. The participants emphasized the continuous need for refined data and proposed a systematic consolidation of global data on shared data platforms, accompanied by corresponding guidelines for data usage. In the final panel discussion, effective risk communication was identified as a critical challenge, necessitating clear and consistent messaging for the public and policymakers. The conference concluded with five key recommendations for future health risk assessments: prioritizing PFAS; improving analytical methods; promoting generation of robust data and data gap filling; promoting open science, including the development of shared data infrastructure and cross-institutional knowledge exchange; and strengthening risk communication. These recommendations aim to support transparent, evidence-based and effective PFAS consumer health risk management in the decades ahead.

Indexed as

ExposureFoodModellingNAMsRisk assessment

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.