Stuffed toys as a source of oral PFAS exposure: Migration into artificial saliva and exposure assessment

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used in textiles and consumer products, resulting in ubiquitous human exposure. Infants and young children may experience distinct exposure patterns due to mouthing behavior, yet oral exposure from textile-based products such as stuffed toys remains poorly characterized.

This study aimed to quantify saliva-mediated PFAS migration from commercially available stuffed toys under mouthing-relevant conditions, assess the potential contribution to early-life exposure, and evaluate the effectiveness of washing as a mitigation measure.

Eighteen stuffed toys intended for infants and toddlers were analysed. PFAS migration was assessed using artificial saliva under standardized conditions and quantified by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Deterministic exposure assessment was performed to estimate daily and weekly intake, complemented by margin of exposure (MOE) calculations and reverse dosimetry based on biomonitoring data. The effect of a standardized water-rinsing step on PFAS migration was also investigated.

PFAS were detected in all toys, with migration profiles dominated by short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids, particularly perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA). A limited number of toys accounted for most of the PFAS released. Estimated intakes for EFSA-regulated PFAS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)) remained below the tolerable weekly intake (TWI), whereas MOE and reverse-dosimetry analyses highlighted compound- and product-specific exposure relevance for short-chain and emerging PFAS. Washing reduced PFAS migration in most cases but increased migration for some PFAS and products, indicating heterogeneous and non-systematic effects.

This study demonstrates that stuffed toys represent a relevant and often underappreciated source of early-life PFAS exposure. PFAS migration was observed across all products and was dominated by short-chain compounds, with perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) emerging as the main driver of exposure relevance. While intake of EFSA-regulated PFAS remained below guidance values, PFHxA showed a large influence on exposure metrics, including reduced MOE and high relative contributions in reverse-dosimetry analyses. These findings reveal an important regulatory and knowledge gap for emerging PFAS and highlight the need to integrate mouthing-relevant exposure pathways into risk assessment of products intended for young children.