i- On October 24, the FDA announced that it published its Pesticide Residue Monitoring Report for Fiscal Year 2021. The report summarizes findings from FDA’s testing of human and animal foods for approximately 750 different pesticides and selected industrial compounds from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
- The Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program is intended to ensure that FDA-regulated foods comply with pesticide tolerances set by the EPA. FDA has prepared an annual pesticide report since 1987. Previous reports are available here.
- The report delivers results from 1,367 human food samples (300 domestic samples and 1,067 imported samples). The levels of pesticide residues measured by FDA were generally in compliance with the pesticide tolerances set by the EPA. Specifically, FDA found that 96.7% of domestic samples and 89.3% of imported samples were compliant. No pesticide chemical residues were detected in 35% of domestic samples and 44.5% of imported samples.
- FDA also tested 80 animal feed samples (16 domestic samples and 64 imported samples). 100% of the domestic samples and 98.4% of the imported samples were compliant with federal regulations. No pesticide chemical residues were detected in 37.5% domestic samples and 40.6% of imported samples.
- FDA noted that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sample collection and analysis was significantly impacted. Approximately 68% fewer human food samples and 78% fewer animal food samples were collected in 2021 as compared to 2019. Therefore, only limited conclusions can be drawn from these results.
FDA Publishes FY 2021 Pesticide Residue Report
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
