USDA Testing Finds Pesticide Residue Levels On Food Are Safe

The USDA reports that 99 percent of the foods it tested – including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, oats, rice, infant formula, and salmon – through its Pesticide Data Program had residue levels below EPA standards. The USDA said the pesticide levels it found “do not pose a safety concern.” The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) tested for pesticides in 10,619 samples of food. Seventy-six percent the samples were domestic in origin, 22.9 percent were imports, 0.7 percent were of mixed origin, and 0.9 percent were of unknown origin. Pesticide residues exceeding the EPA tolerance level were detected in 0.36 percent of the samples tested.