The U.S. Food and Drug Administration uses 3 approaches to monitor pesticide residues in foods: regulatory monitoring, incidence/level monitoring, and the Total Diet Study. The results of monitoring infant foods and adult foods that may be eaten by infants/children under these 3 approaches are presented. Under regulatory monitoring, which is performed to enforce tolerances set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during fiscal years 1985-1991, over 10 000 such domestic and imported food samples were collected and analyzed, and under the Total Diet Study, in which pesticide residue intakes are estimated in foods prepared for consumption, the food items in 27 market baskets were analyzed. Under incidence/level monitoring, which is complementary to regulatory monitoring, over 4000 analyses were performed on infant foods and adult foods eaten by children. Fewer than 50 of the 10 000 regulatory samples had violative residues; nearly all of those were residues for which there was no tolerance for the particular commodity/pesticide combination. Under incidence/ level monitoring and the Total Diet Study, the levels of pesticide residues found in infant foods and adult foods eaten by children were well below tolerances set by EPA.

In 1993-94, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a statistically based study of pesticide residues in domestic and imported fresh apples and processed rice. For apples, 769 domestic and 1062 imported samples were collected and analyzed; 85% of the domestic and 86% of the imported samples had detectable residues. Benomyl, a widely used fungicide, was found with greatest frequency in domestic apples, while diphenylamine was found most often in imported apples. One domestic and 4 imported samples contained violative residues of pesticides for which there are no U.S. tolerances on apples. The statistically weighted (by domestic packer throughput or import shipment size) violation rates for domestic and imported apples were 0.30% (0.13 unweighted) and 0.41% (0.38 unweighted), respectively. For rice, 598 domestic and 612 imported samples were collected and analyzed; 56% of the domestic and 12% of the imported samples had detectable residues. Malathion had the greatest frequency of occurrence in both groups of rice. Eight domestic and 9 imported samples were violative, all as a result of use of pesticides for which there are no U.S. tolerances on rice. The statistically weighted violation rates for domestic and imported rice were 0.43% (1.3 unweighted) and 1.1% (1.5 unweighted), respectively. Results of the statistically based study show that, as in FDA’s regulatory monitoring, the levels of most pesticide residues found in these 2 commodities are generally well below U.S. tolerances, and few violative residues are found.

In 1992–1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a statistically based study of pesticide residues in domestic and imported pears and tomatoes. For pears, 710 domestic and 949 imported samples were collected and analyzed; 79% of the domestic and 72% of the imported samples had detectable residues. Thiabendazole, a fungicide with postharvest uses, was found with greatest frequency in both groups of pears. Four domestic and 12 imported samples contained violative residues, mainly of pesticides for which there are no U.S. tolerances on pears. The statistically weighted (by shipment size) violation rates for domestic and imported pears were 1.0 and 0.9%, respectively. For tomatoes, 1219 domestic and 144 imported samples were collected and analyzed; 84% of the domestic and 91% of the imported samples had detectable residues. Methamidophos, an insecticide, had the greatest frequency of occurrence in both groups of tomatoes. Thirtythree domestic and 5 imported samples were violative, nearly all the result of acephate use, for which there is no U.S. tolerance on tomatoes. The statistically weighted violation rates for domestic and imported tomatoes were 1.9 and 7.0%, respectively. The statistically weighted violation rates calculated for domestic and imported pears and domestic tomatoes in this study were lower than those observed under FDA’s regulatory monitoring in recent years. The violation rate for imported tomatoes was somewhat higher under statistical monitoring than under regulatory monitoring. The results of the statistically based study show that, as in regulatory monitoring, the levels of pesticide residues found are generally well below U.S. tolerances.