The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published the 2024 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary. The summary shows that more than 99 percent of the samples tested had pesticide residues below benchmark levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each year, USDA and EPA work together to identify foods to be tested on a rotating basis by the PDP. In 2024, tests were conducted on 9,872 samples from 19 commodities of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, nuts and fish. AMS partners with cooperating state agencies to collect and analyze pesticide residue levels on the selected food commodities. USDA tests a wide variety of domestic and imported foods, with a strong focus on foods that are consumed by infants and children. EPA relies on PDP data to conduct dietary risk assessments and to ensure that any pesticide residues in foods remain at or below levels that EPA has set. The data also provide regulators, farmers, processors, manufacturers, consumers and scientists with important insights into the actual levels of pesticide residues found on widely consumed foods.

The annual pesticide residue results are reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and EPA in monthly reports as testing takes place throughout the year. FDA and EPA are immediately notified if a PDP test discovers residue levels that could pose a public safety concern. In 2024, over 99 percent of the samples tested had residues below the tolerances established by the EPA with 42.3 percent having no detectable residue. Appendixes B, C, and D provide a distribution of residues by pesticide and their metabolites for the commodities tested. Residues exceeding the tolerance were detected in 0.77 percent (76 samples) of the total samples tested (9,872 samples). Of these 76 samples, 12 were domestic (15.8 percent), 63 were imported (82.9 percent), and 1 was of unknown origin (1.3 percent). Residues with no established tolerance were found in 3.7 percent (361 samples) of the total samples tested (9,872 samples). Of these 361 samples, 118 were domestic (32.7 percent), 230 were imported (63.7 percent), and 13 were of unknown origin (3.6 percent).  Fresh and processed fruit and vegetables accounted for 9,165 samples or 92.8 percent of the total 9,872 samples collected in 2024. Fresh and processed fruit and vegetables tested during 2024 were: apples, avocados, blackberries (fresh and frozen), cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, onions, oranges, pineapples (fresh and frozen), potatoes, canned pumpkin, sweet corn (fresh and frozen), and tomatillos. Almonds accounted for 531 samples, or 5.4 percent of the total number of samples collected in 2024. Salmon accounted for 176 samples, or 1.8 percent of the total number of samples collected in 2024. Domestic samples accounted for 60.1 percent of all samples, while 38.9 percent were imports, 0.9 percent were of unknown origin, and less than 0.1 percent were of mixed national origin.