USDA Releases 2020 Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary

Earlier this week, the USDA published the 2020 Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary. The summary shows that more than 99% of the samples tested had pesticide residues below benchmark levels established by the EPA. The report for 2020, issued by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, marks the 30th year of survey results. Over the 30 years, USDA has tested 126 commodities, including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, poultry, grains, fish, rice, specialty products and water. Monitoring results for more than 310,000 samples through the years are available on the Pesticide Data Program website.

Each year, USDA and EPA work together to identify foods to be tested by the program on a rotating basis. In 2020, tests were conducted on 9,600 samples from 18 commodities of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. AMS partners with cooperating state agencies to collect and analyze pesticide residue levels on the selected food commodities.

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