Yesterday, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program Report.  According to FDA, their monitoring results show that residues “do not pose a concern for public health.”

The FDA found almost 99% of the domestic foods sampled had residues levels well below Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety standards with 42% of foods having no detectable residue levels at all.

This report shows that consumers can choose organic and conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with confidence. It also underscores that no one and no group should discourage consumers from eating healthy produce by promoting unwarranted safety fears about residues.

According to the FDA: “We employ a three-fold strategy to enforce the EPA’s tolerances for pesticide chemical residues. Through our regulatory pesticide residue monitoring program, we monitor a broad range of domestic and imported commodities. We may also collect samples of specific foods or test for pesticides of special interest. In addition, we monitor the levels of pesticide chemical residues in food prepared for human consumption in our Total Diet Study (TDS), an ongoing program that monitors contaminants and nutrients in the average U.S. diet.”

The reassuring results are not only consistent with previous years’ findings but are also consistent with other government sampling programs, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program. The USDA PDP has monitored pesticide residues in the U.S. food supply with a focus on sampling foods most consumed by infants and children for 30 years.  In fact, the USDA PDP database is currently one of the world’s largest sources of data on food pesticide residues.

These federal sampling program results are complemented by state residue sampling programs as well as peer reviewed toxicology studies that consistently verify the safety of produce.

If you still have concerns about residues, just wash your fruits and veggies.  FDA states that washing produce often removes or eliminates any minute residues that may be present.

Read, learn, choose but eat more organic and conventional fruits and vegetables every day for better health and a longer life.