The US Department of Agriculture has published the latest findings from its Pesticide Data Programme (PDP), which it says shows that pesticide residues on food sold in the US does not pose a threat to human health.
The annual study, which is undertaken by the USDA in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tests foods on a rotating basis, focusing on products that are highly consumed by infants and children. These include fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, water, wheat and butter.
The results showed that more than 99 per cent of the samples contained residues below the maximum level set out by the EPA, while 0.53 per cent were found to have residue levels that exceeded the EPA’s required maximum. Although there were a total of 63 tolerance violations – which included methamidiphos and acephate residues found on 24 samples of cherry tomatoes and 32 samples of sugar snap peas – the EPA stated that they did not pose a risk to health.
However the environmental advocacy group the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said the study did not address concerns over pesticide exposure to health. “It’s true that most samples meet legal limits every year, but legal doesn’t always mean safe,” EWG’s senior analyst Sonya Lunder told Food Safety News. “Some liken pesticide tolerances to a 500mph speed limit – it’s too easy to comply and does not guarantee anyone’s safety.”
