Annual Pesticide Data Program highlights food safety through rigorous testing of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, ensuring residue levels remain within EPA standards.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its 2023 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary, which provides crucial insights into pesticide residue levels across a variety of commonly consumed foods. This year’s data reveal that over 99 percent of samples tested displayed pesticide residue levels below the thresholds set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), underscoring USDA’s ongoing commitment to food safety and public health.
Conducted in collaboration with the EPA, the PDP systematically examines a rotating selection of food items each year. For 2023, the program analyzed 9,832 samples across 21 categories of fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), along with cooperating state agencies, spearheads this initiative, working to identify and monitor pesticide residues in foods commonly eaten by infants and children.
The PDP plays a vital role in food safety by supplying the EPA with updated data on pesticide residues. EPA uses these findings to conduct thorough dietary risk assessments, ensuring that pesticide levels in foods remain within the limits considered safe for consumption.
This partnership, according to a USDA press release, helps maintain confidence in the U.S. food system by verifying that food consumed by the public, including vulnerable populations, is free from dangerous pesticide levels.
Testing for the PDP is carried out on both domestic and imported products, which undergo rigorous sampling by AMS and state agencies. These tests monitor a variety of pesticide residues, providing data that inform decisions by farmers, processors, regulators, scientists, and consumers.
Monthly reports generated from the program’s findings are shared with both the FDA and EPA. Should any residues exceed the EPA’s safety benchmarks, the relevant agencies are notified immediately, allowing for swift intervention when public safety might be at risk.
The USDA’s PDP and its annual summaries are part of a broader effort to promote public health by monitoring pesticide levels in food, enabling informed choices for safer diets. For additional information on pesticide safety, the EPA and FDA websites offer comprehensive resources on standards and guidelines related to pesticides in food.
For inquiries about the report or the PDP, individuals can reach out to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Science and Technology Program’s Monitoring Programs Division via email at amsmpo.data@usda.gov.
