Michigan beef found to contain dangerous levels of ‘forever chemicals’

Contamination at a small farm discovered after sewage sludge was tested for PFAS, but officials downplayed incident as isolated'

Cattle from a small south-east Michigan farm that sold beef to schools and at farmers' markets in the state have been found to contain dangerous levels of PFAS, so-called forever chemicals" that can pose a serious risk to human health.

The news comes after consumer groups in 2019 warned that using PFAS-laden sewage sludge as fertilizer would contaminate dairy, beef, crops and other food products. However, at the time a Michigan agricultural regulator publicly assured the state's dairy farmers her agency wouldn't test milk for the toxic chemicals as they didn't want to inflict economic pain on the $15bn industry, she said.