FDA Pesticide Analysis Shows Residue Levels Remain Low

According to a new FDA report, 98% of domestic and 90% of imported foods tested in FY 2015 were compliant with federal pesticide residue limits. The report covers fiscal year 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015), during which the levels of pesticide chemical residues in or on food generally remained well below established federal tolerances, or EPA limits, the report states. Additionally, no pesticide chemical residues were found in 49.8% of the domestic and 56.8% of the imported human food samples analyzed. The agency found pesticide chemical residues in violation of federal tolerances (residue levels above the tolerance or residues for which no tolerance has been established) in less than 2.0% (15 out of 835) of domestic samples and less than 10% (444 out of 4737) of import samples.FDA also tested food intended for animals. No pesticide chemical residues were found in 51.6% of the 215 domestic animal food samples nor in 57.9% of the 202 imported animal food samples. Less than 3.0% (12 samples) of the animal food samples were found to contain violative pesticide chemical residues.