The Dutch regulator that authorizes crop protection products is reviewing 46 pesticides containing PFAS for possible removal from the market or reduced use because they threaten long-term drinking water supplies, with experts warning of major consequences for potato growers.

The College for the Authorization of Plant Protection Products and Biocides, or Ctgb, began the review this week after recent Danish research showed that PFAS substances in the pesticides break down into trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA — a tiny PFAS variant that barely degrades, easily enters groundwater, accumulates there and may harm reproduction.

“There is no acute health risk at present,” the Ctgb told NOS. But TFA already turns up in groundwater and in sources used for drinking water, and the authority said it is acting now to prevent further buildup in ground- and drinking water.

Ctgb policy officer Lotte Huisman described the situation as urgent. “This is a runaway train coming toward Dutch agriculture,” she said. “Potentially we are going to ban all those products, so we have advised the ministry to investigate the impact and whether there are alternatives.”

The Ctgb is feeding the new Danish findings into its own groundwater models to determine whether the amount of TFA seeping into groundwater stays below European standards. Provisional calculations strongly indicate the products should be taken off the market, but Huisman said the authority will carefully assess every use of all 46 products. A final decision — whether to remove the products, lower allowed doses or leave permits unchanged — is expected no later than April 2028.

Potato growers could be hit hardest. Some of the pesticides protect against the pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Without protection, potato blight can completely destroy an unprotected crop within two weeks.

“At the moment we have just enough products to also protect the potatoes well in wet years and to prevent Phytophthora from becoming resistant to the products,” said Tineke de Vries, chairwoman of LTO Arable Farming.

Regular arable farms rely heavily on potatoes. “They get about a third of their income from there,” ABN Amro economist Jelmer Schreurs told NOS. “At the moment the prices are low, but for the long term the potato is a super important crop for Dutch agriculture.”

Removing PFAS from the products is not an option. “These are different kinds of PFAS than you find in pans and raincoats,” Huisman said. “In these products PFAS is an integral part of the active substance.”

The sector is now hunting for alternatives. De Vries said the industry shares the goal of reducing PFAS use. “Let it be clear, we too want to get rid of products with PFAS,” she said. “You actually want a full toolbox to keep your crops healthy with as few chemical products as possible. The tricky thing is only that in the short term we do not have one-to-one green alternatives for these products.”

Large-scale organic potato production does not appear feasible in the short term. André Hoogendijk of the BO Arable Farming knowledge center said farmers who want to avoid spraying can improve their chances of a good harvest by using resistant varieties, but buyers must cooperate.

“Organic farmers have agreements with supermarkets where they can sell robust varieties,” Hoogendijk told NOS. “But the conventional sector supplies many potatoes to large companies that make fries, chips or slices from them. They often want only one potato variety in all of Northwest Europe and it has not yet been possible to make agreements about robust varieties.”

In May, the Ministry of Agriculture expects results from a Wageningen University study on the impact of the products now under review. The ministry will then discuss alternatives with the sector.

PFAS is a collective name for thousands of non-degradable toxic chemicals. The abbreviation stands for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances. GenX, PFOA and PFOS are the best known. They accumulate in the food chain and damage the immune system. With prolonged exposure, some types are carcinogenic.

Recent research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment showed that almost everyone in the Netherlands has too much PFAS in the blood. The substances have been used since the 1950s in non-stick coatings for pans, waterproof rain clothing, packaging and firefighting foam.