Can I safely eat the strawberries I picked?

"I am concerned about high levels of PFAS contamination in the drinking water?"

Comment by Nadine Kochuten:

Cold Bay residents have been using bottled water due to PFAS contamination of their drinking water. See article from April, 2023. I picked strawberries in Cold Bay near the airport and runway, should I be concerned about eating and cooking with the wild strawberries I've found and feeding them to my family members, which includes babies? If the PFAS has contaminated the drinking water wells, does it also contaminate things growing that we subsist on? If they are contaminated, is it because of the groundwater or close proximity to the runway?

LEO Network says:

We have reached out to the Tribal Water Center and the Center for Climate and Health, both at ANTHC for consultation on this question. See also resource available from the State of Alaska, Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation that are provided in the site links.

Consult by Sarah Yoder:

Thanks for asking some really good questions. There is still a lot we do not know about PFAS and there currently no consumption guidelines for PFAS in Alaska, but here is some information to help you decide:

In general, we know plants can be contaminated with PFAS when grown in PFAS-contaminated soil or watered with PFAS-contaminated water. However, the amount of PFAS in fruits and vegetables depends on factors such as the level of PFAS in the water or soil and the type of plant or crop.

In 2019, there was an assessment of strawberries grown in an Alaskan community with known PFAS. The strawberries were watered with well water known to be contaminated with PFAS and one of those berries was found to contain a small amount of PFOA, which is a type of PFAS (the strawberry contained 0.22 ppb of PFOA). The Department of Health looked at the potential health risk for children and adults and “determined the hazard associated with exposure to PFAS through eating vegetables and strawberries grown at the local farm is negligible”. Wild berries watered with rain would be a lower risk than berries watered with contaminated ground water.

Because we eat a variety of foods, the risk of eating PFAS-contaminated food is thought to be low. This is different from the higher concern of contaminated drinking water because we often drink from the same water source all day, every day, but our food is more diverse. The State of Alaska states: “Ultimately, exposure to PFAS through produce is not likely to be substantial compared to other exposure routes, like drinking contaminated water.”

A final note: wild berries are a great source of physical, cultural, and spiritual benefits – keeping your diet and harvest locations varied, as well as washing off any berries that you collect, are great ways to minimize any potential risk. A few useful resources will be linked to this post for additional information.