Do any of your favorite non-dairy powdered creamers contain indications of PFAS “forever chemicals?” Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS “forever chemicals” have been found lurking in many foods. Today, we will find out if they could also be found in non-dairy powdered creamers through independent laboratory testing of PFAS indicators. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you other consumer studies like safest olive oils tested for phthalates, safest cookware sans PFAS “forever chemicals,” and safest salts tested for heavy metals & microplastics, now join us for another consumer study looking at indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and non-dairy powdered coffee creamer & vegan creamers sold in North America.
Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. Donations were provided by Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with most to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you! Copyright © 2024 Mamavation — All Rights Reserved
Mamavation EPA-Certified Lab Finds Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Inside Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer
When trying to avoid dairy non-dairy coffee creamer is a great product category to purchase to attain that great cup of coffee without all the lactose. As more and more people develop sensitivities to dairy products, such as people with autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a new market segment of dairy-free and lactose-free coffee creamers is increasing in popularity. You’ll also see vegans and people concerned about animal welfare forgoing dairy in their coffee as well and seeking these products to flavor their coffee. But do these creamers contain indications of PFAS “forever chemicals?” This is the question we attempted to answer in order to support our keto, paleo, vegan, and milk-sensitive community members.
We sent some of the most popular non-dairy powdered creamers to an EPA-certified laboratory looking for organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS “forever chemicals.” Most of these products would qualify for the “keto” or low glycemic diet and contain some form of coconut. The EPA-certified laboratory we used had a detection limit of 10 parts per million (ppm) and therefore anything below that amount could could not be detected. However, this laboratory technique can detect polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is also known as “Teflon.” Most other commercially available methods that go below 10 ppm are not able to detect PTFE in their findings, so this is why we used this laboratory.
Here’s what our laboratory informed us about the products that were sent:
40% of non-dairy powdered creamers sent to the lab returned with detections of organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS “forever chemicals.” That’s 4 out of 10 products.
50% of the USDA-certified organic products sent to the laboratory returned with detections of organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS “forever chemicals. That’s 3 out of 6 organic products.
75% of the products that had detections of organic fluorine were USDA organic products. That’s 3 out of 4 of the products.
Therefore, purchasing a USDA organic-certified non-dairy powdered creamer product is not a shortcut on whether it will have indications of PFAS “forever chemicals.” When looking for organic non-dairy powdered creamer products, you may want to ask the company you are interested in if they have done independent organic fluorine testing of their final product. Many PFAS chemicals, including PTFE (aka Teflon), are not prohibited by USDA organic standards and are completely legal to use as indirect food additives in manufacturing via the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) rules. In the past, when Mamavation has reached out to the Organic Trade Association (OTA) for a comment on this issue of potential PFAS contamination in USDA organic food products, Reana Kovalcik, the Director of Public Relations gave us this quote:
“Certifiers review packaging and equipment as a potential source of contamination, but packaging material components like perchlorate or BPA (or PFAS) are regulated by the FDA and are classified as indirect food additives. PFAS as an indirect additive or residual contaminant is not specifically addressed by the organic regulations. Just like BPA, as an indirect additive, PFAS is outside of the scope of the NOP standards.”
Other Known Industries Using PFAS “Forever Chemicals”
PFAS chemicals have been used for decades to create stain resistance, water resistance, and grease-proof qualities in products to which they are added. If you’ve heard of coatings such as “Teflon” on cookware, fabrics made from “Gore-Tex” or treatments on carpets like STAINMASTER®, you’ve already heard about PFAS chemicals. Here’s more of what you may not have been aware of:
Textiles & Fabrics: PFAS chemicals are very commonly found in product categories such as textiles & fabrics to create stain-resistance, water-resistance, or “sweat-wicking.” To help you here, Mamavation has tested athletic wear, sports bras, and period underwear. We’ve also conducted other consumer studies on bedding, children’s clothing, infant car seats, jackets, & raincoats.
Food Packaging: In food packaging, they are used in popcorn bags, pizza boxes, fast food wrappers & canisters, and the flat dish on the bottom of cakes at the grocery store. Mamavation has also tested different butter wrappers, parchment paper brands, plastic-free straws, paper coffee filters, and cupcake liners for indications of PFAS.
Personal Care Products: The beauty industry has been notoriously guilty of using PFAS to create a waterproof or long-lasting effect in makeup products. So Mamavation tested the most popular green beauty makeup brands, and we have also found some issues with period underwear, tampons, and sanitary pads. We also detected disturbingly high quantities of PFAS in dental floss
Toilet Paper: Mamavation found indications of PFAS in 24% of the toilet paper we sent to the lab. However, we also found plenty of ‘best” and “better” brands. Go take a look!
Cookware: Most “non-stick” cookware is coated with PFAS chemicals, including some stainless steel cookware, and small kitchen appliances like air fryers. Check out Mamavation’s investigation on cookware.
Carpeting & Flooring: PFAS has also been used in carpeting & flooring. Do you remember StainMaster™ carpet? That was PFAS. However, not all carpet shows indications of PFAS. We recently tested one brand you can safely purchase. Mamavation also tested several bamboo flooring brands and found one brand that was free from PFAS.
Furniture: Watch out for “stain-resistant” treatments on furniture. We have not done any testing in this category yet.
Fire Fighting Foam: PFAS was used in firefighting foams and they have unfortunately been used extensively around military bases, airports, and fire-training stations. If you live close to a military base; airport, or fire-training station, check with your local water district to see if they have tested the water for PFAS.
Metal Plating, Semiconductors, Lubrications, & Coating Additives: Lots of industrial applications of PFAS are used to keep equipment from rusting, getting overheated, or provide water-resistant, or grease-resistant qualities.
Drinking Water: Sadly, there are lots of places around the United States and all over the world where drinking water is contaminated with PFAS. Most of these areas are by military bases, airports, and other industrial parks that used PFAS for firefighting or other such uses. Luckily, Mamavation has done an investigation of the best water filters to remove PFAS.
Car Wax, Ski Wax, & Surfboard Wax: Yes, you guessed it. PFAS is used here for its grease & water-resistant qualities.
Some Processed Food: Mamavation has found indications of PFAS inside pasta & tomato sauces, nut butters, cooking oils, and ketchup. We are presently working on other food categories.
Supplements: Mamavation’s lab has found some issues with products like electrolytes.
Baby & Kids Products: Mamavation’s lab has found organic fluorine in some disposable diapers & cloth diapers, strollers, & kids backpacks. Good news! We did not find indications of PFAS in several probiotics for children through testing.
Other Categories of Products Mamavation Has Tested for Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” & Other Contaminants
Before we launch into the raw data from our lab, we wanted to remind you about all the other studies we have done on indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and other contaminants inside the food and consumer products you may bring into your home. Each one of these studies was performed similarly to this study with brands sent independently to the lab and the raw data of those labs presented at the bottom of the post.
Raw Data From Our EPA-Certified Laboratory Regarding Organic Fluorine Testing of Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer
Non-dairy powdered creamers were purchased & donated from community members between November 2022 and April 2024. Each product was recorded in our database and sent directly to the lab within its original packaging.
Testing: Mamavation’s EPA-certified laboratory uses marker testing to identify the potential presence of PFAS “forever chemicals” in non-dairy powdered creamer. Organic fluorine is a marker for PFAS because all PFAS chemicals are carbon-based compounds that contain fluorine. The specific lab method used to test for total fluorine was the Determination of Total Fluorine by Oxygen Flask Combustion and Ion-Selective Electrode. If total fluorine was observed at a detection level of 10 ppm or greater, the lab did the Determination of free Fluoride Ion in the product by Ion-Selective Electrode and then subtracted that from the Total Fluorine to determine the amount of organic fluorine. This marker testing is likely to show the presence of PFAS. Organic fluorine can also capture other fluoropolymers, pharmaceuticals, and common hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, such as 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (commonly known as R-134a) and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (commonly known as HFO-1234yf), which are all also PFAS. None of which you want around your food, or personal care products.
Scott Belcher, Ph.D. & Associate Professor with the Center for Environmental & Health Effects of PFAS at North Carolina State University says “fluoropolymers, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), are extremely common forms of PFAS that could be contributing to the organic fluorine found in powdered non-dairy creamer. Methods used for detecting individual PFAS, such as PFOA or GenX, cannot directly identify PTFE. However, the analysis of total organic fluorine (TOF) does account for all PFAS contaminants in bandages, including PTFE. Therefore, this method of testing serves as a good ‘spot-check’ of consumer products.”
Not Our Favorite Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer Alternatives
According to our EPA-certified lab, this category of products had detections of organic fluorine, which is an indicator of PFAS “forever chemicals.”
Better Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer
This category was sent to our EPA-certified laboratory and was not found to have any detections of organic fluorine. However, we had some concerns with the ingredients. None of these products are USDA-certified organic, which means they could have a higher level of toxic persistent pesticides present or could contain unhealthy preservatives or artificial flavor. We are marking the brands that have better ingredients with no preservatives with an *. In other words, if you had to decide, the brands marked with * would be the best in this category.
Best Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer
This category was sent to our EPA-certified laboratory and was not found to have any detections of organic fluorine. The products in this category are also USDA-certified organic products so they are less likely to have high amounts of toxic synthetic pesticides present.