The use of pesticides in the US and other countries is a growing concern with many consumers in the US. The Federal Government monitors and tests for pesticides in our food supply and makes risk assessments from the gathered data. An accurate, reliable testing program is needed so the Federal Government, agricultural producers and consumers can make informed decisions about safe practices regarding pesticide residues and pesticide use. The consumer wants to know that pesticides will be at a safe level in our agricultural commodities, produced here in the US and imported from other countries.

The Environmental Protection Agency is the branch of the federal government that is mandated to set the limits on how much of a particular pesticide residue can remain in food and feed products, or commodities. The EPA sets maximum residue limits (MRLs), or tolerances, for pesticides that can be used on food and feed commodities. The tolerances are set to protect us from harmful levels of pesticides on and in our food.

The Pesticide Data Program (PDP) is a national pesticide residue database program. PDP overseas the collection, analysis, data entry and reporting of pesticide residues on agricultural commodities in the US food supply. Their main focus is on the commodities highly consumed by infants and children. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was tasked with designing and implementing a program to collect and report data on pesticides in food. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was given the responsibility of operating this program in May 1991. Over the last decade, Pesticide Data Program has progressed from a quick survey of a few commodities to being the primary source of pesticide residue data, which supports the dietary exposure component of risk assessments performed by the EPA.

Meat, water and approximately 20 different commodities are analyzed each year with each commodity being in the program 2 consecutive years. Samples are retrieved from more than 500 sites in 10 different states and are chosen without regard to country of origin or organic labeling. The PDP laboratories monitor pesticides, metabolites, degradates and isomers using multiple residue methods (MRMs). MRMs are used to detect multiple compounds in a single analytical test with more than 30 methods used in this program to detect various pesticide compounds. In recent years, almost 1,000,000 discrete pesticide pairs have been determined per year. Nearly 10,000,000 measurements have been performed since the start of the program. 27 different types of fresh fruit and vegetables, 21 different types of processed commodities, 5 types of grain and wheat flour, cow’s milk, butter, beef muscle, beef liver, beef fat, chicken muscle, chicken liver, chicken fat and drinking water have been analyzed.

Test samples are prepared by emulating consumer practices. The inedible parts of fruits and vegetables are removed and the sample is peeled and washed under fresh running water before being chopped and homogenized. Juices are diluted according to the label instructions and canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are homogenized with any liquid present. Meats and grains are homogenized in the raw form. In the 10 year period from 1993 to 2003, over 100,000 samples were analyzed, and about 65% of those are fresh fruit and vegetable samples.

The overall percentage of samples with detectable pesticides in food was 58%. Out of the 102,058 samples, 185 were over the tolerance limit set by the EPA. 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetables had detectable pesticides in the washed edible tissues. The majority of fresh fruit and vegetables have pesticide detection rates of 50% or greater, with six commodities having consistent pesticide detection rates of 90% or greater. Those commodities are apples, celery, cherries, nectarines, peaches and strawberries. One must remember that out of the over 100,000 samples less than 1% were over tolerance. DDT and a metabolite DDE p.p’ are still being found in 37% of carrot samples, 39% of spinach samples and 7% of potato samples, thirty years after its use was banned. While the pesticide DDT is still being detected, the residue being found is below the action levels set by the FDA.

The pesticides in food data has statistically shown that 1% or less of the yearly samples have pesticide residue above the EPA tolerances. This data suggests that illegal pesticide use on foods is rare. Future risk assessments, analyzing exposure to multiple compounds and methods to quantify dietary exposure are being developed to incorporate the data generated by the Pesticide Data Program. The program clearly show that pesticides are detectable in 58% of all samples and the EPA and FDA are constantly assessing dietary risks to the nations food supply.

This data is gathered so informed decisions can be made regarding pesticide application levels, risk assessments for public safety and identifying what pesticides are being used in the US and other countries. Why this information is important to you the consumer, is now you can begin to ask informed questions to your produce suppliers and elected officials regarding pesticide residues in our food supply. Questions like, what are the risks of low level exposure to pesticides in our food over the long run? Or what can I do personally to assure my family is eating food that is not going to harm them? Many Americans are once again raising their own fruits and vegetables just for this reason. Growing organic is a trend that is quickly building interest and momentum across the nation. One sure way of knowing what you are consuming is safe is by growing it yourself. Additional information can be found through the USDA, the EPA and the FDA.

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