Last week the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its 2017 pesticide residue sampling data results.  FDA concluded:  “The latest set of results demonstrate once again that the majority of the foods we test are well below the federal limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Note the term “once again” in FDA’s statement.  They used it because government residue sampling data year after year reaffirms the safety of our food and the exceptionally high level of compliance among farmers with laws and regulations covering the use of organic and conventional pesticides.

Let’s get a little technical for a moment and focus on how FDA residue sampling is protective of consumers. FDA employs a three-fold strategy to enforce the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tolerances or safety standards for pesticide residues. This includes:

• FDA selectively tests a broad range of imported and domestic commodities, including fruits and vegetables, for pesticide residues.
• FDA may also carry out focused sampling surveys for specific commodities or selected pesticide residues of special interest.
• FDA monitors the levels of pesticide residues in foods prepared for consumption in its Total Diet Study (TDS), an ongoing program which was established in the 1960s and includes monitoring of residues and nutrients in the average U.S. diet.

In addition to FDA’s sampling program, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) also monitors residue levels with an emphasis on the fruits and vegetables highly consumed by infants and children.  The USDA PDP residue sampling results are consistent with FDA’s leading the USDA to state that the “U.S. food supply is among the safest in the world.”

With USDA PDP finding more than 99% of the foods sampled had residues well below EPA safety levels or no detectable residues at all and FDA’s findings that over 96% of domestic foods sampled had either no detectable residues or they were well below established tolerances, consumers should be reassured about their shopping choices.

You can learn more about the regulations and safety standards governing the approval and use of pesticides on organic and conventional crops here.  These stringent standards are established to protect consumers, farm workers and the environment.

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