USDA report reaffirms food safety in U.S.

Pesticide residues detected on a variety of recently sampled food products are below the tolerances established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and “do not pose a safety concern,” according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

The 2013 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary, officially released on Dec. 19, 2014, shows that over 99 percent of the products sampled through PDP had residues below the EPA tolerances.

The PDP collected 9,990 food samples for testing in 2013 including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, infant formula, butter and salmon. Of that total only .23 percent were found to have residue levels exceeding the allowed tolerance. Pesticide residue tolerances, or limits, are set at levels 100 to 1,000 times lower than what is considered potentially dangerous for human health.

The use of crop protection products benefits U.S. consumers who enjoy traditional winter beverages such as hot cider or a winter lager. Without the help of pesticides, apples face many disease and insect threats. Black rot has the potential to reduce apple yields by 60 percent, and one apple tree infected with black rot is estimated to contain 8 billion spores1. The hop industry estimates that without crop protection, up to 69 percent of hops could be impacted by decreased yield and quality due to mildews2.

The PDP was established by AMS in 1991 for the purpose of collecting data on pesticide residues found in food. Information collected by the PDP is sent to EPA to help the agency conduct important dietary risk assessments. USDA also uses this data in the development of Integrated Pest Management objectives. Since the program was initiated, 109 different commodities have undergone testing.

A complete version of the 2013 Annual Summary is available at www.ams.usda.gov/pdp.