The “eternal chemicals” are already everywhere. And that includes one of our favorite places: Spanish wine

The “eternal chemicals” have become a hot issue. These chemicals are widely used in a variety of contexts but their increasingly common presence in the environment worries both environmentalists and the health sector. And for now we know little about the possible impact of these substances on the health of people and in ecosystems.

“Eternal” chemicals in wine. A study by the environmental association European bread(PHASE Action Network Europe) He has warned of the presence in the European wine of one of the substances we usually refer to as “eternal chemicals”: trifluoroacetic acid.

PFAS and TFA. PFAS are the acronym with which we often refer to the category of perfluoroalized and polyfluoralized substances. It is a family of synthetic molecules (there are about 4,700 compounds of this type) that stand out for resistance that imbues the union between fluorine and carbon atoms. These compounds They are useful For example, in the manufacture of non -stick objects, but they can also be found in pesticides, containers or hygiene products.

This is a molecular union Extremely stabledoes not react to external agents so it is extremely difficult to make these substances decompose, either by natural processes or otherwise. That is why these substances tend to accumulate in nature and, potentially, in our body.

Interestingly, one of the problems with these substances is in one of the products as a result of the decomposition of the PFAS, the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). This is precisely the “eternal chemist” on which the new study has focused.

49 wines. The analysis It began with a dozen Austrian wines of relatively old vintages and was expanding to include more recent crops and other countries. In total, 49 wines were analyzed, including at least one produced in Spain.

They observed that wines prior to 1988 They did not contain traces of TFAbut that from that year the concentrations were increasing, first little by little and, as of 2010, significantly. The average concentrations in the vines of vintages between 2021 and 2024 was 122 µg/l, although peaks of up to 300 µg/l were detected. Although the phenomenon extended throughout Europe, the team indicated that Austrian wines were the most affected.

Other Detail highlighted By the association it was the correlation between the concentrations of TFA and waste of synthetic pesticides.

Ecological production The study of European bread He noted that ecological production wines also did not get rid of the presence of these substances, although it is true that they showed some concentrations less than those found in other wines.

To what extent are a risk? Today we do not know for sure the effects of “eternal chemicals” on our health, but there are some indications that allow us to get an idea of ​​these possible effects. TFA has been linked, for example, problems for Fertility; But other compounds of this family have also been related to immune problems and even a greater risk of cancer.

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Image | Hermes Rivera