A comparative study of allowable pesticide residue levels on produce in the United States

Neff, Hartle, Laestadius, Dolan Kathleen, Rosenthal, Nachman

Description

The U.S. imports a substantial and increasing portion of its fruits and vegetables. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently inspects less than one percent of import shipments. While countries exporting to the U.S. are expected to comply with U.S. tolerances, including allowable pesticide residue levels, there is a low rate of import inspections and few other incentives for compliance. Methods This analysis estimates the quantity of excess pesticide residue that could enter the U.S. if exporters followed originating country requirements but not U.S. pesticide tolerances, for the top 20 imported produce items based on quantities imported and U.S. consumption levels. Pesticide health effects data are also shown. Results The model estimates that for the identified items, 120 439 kg of pesticides in excess of U.S. tolerances could potentially be imported to the U.S., in cases where U.S. regulations are more protective than those of originating countries. This figure is in addition to residues allowed on domestic produce. In the modeling, the top produce item, market, and pesticide of concern were oranges, Chile, and Zeta-Cypermethrin. Pesticides in this review are associated with health effects on 13 body systems, and some are associated with carcinogenic effects. Conclusions There is a critical information gap regarding pesticide residues on produce imported to the U.S. Without a more thorough sampling program, it is not possible accurately to characterize risks introduced by produce importation. The scenario presented herein relies on assumptions, and should be considered illustrative. The analysis highlights the need for additional investigation and resources for monitoring, enforcement, and other interventions, to improve import food safety and reduce pesticide exposures in originating countries.

Sujets

• Pesticide
• Agriculture
• International trade
• Policy
• Food safety

Informations

• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 18
• Langue: English

Extrait

Neff et al . Globalization and Health 2012, 8 :2 http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/8/1/2

R E S E A R C H Open Access A comparative study of allowable pesticide residue levels on produce in the United States Roni A Neff 1,2* , Jennifer C Hartle 1,2 , Linnea I Laestadius 1,3 , Kathleen Dolan 1,4 , Anne C Rosenthal 1,5 and Keeve E Nachman 1,2

Abstract Background: The U.S. imports a substantial and increasing portion of its fruits and vegetables. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently inspects less than one percent of import shipments. While countries exporting to the U.S. are expected to comply with U.S. tolerances, including allowable pesticide residue levels, there is a low rate of import inspections and few other incentives for compliance. Methods: This analysis estimates the quantity of excess pesticide residue that could enter the U.S. if exporters followed originating country requirements but not U.S. pesticide tolerances, for the top 20 imported produce items based on quantities imported and U.S. consumption levels. Pesticide health effects data are also shown. Results: The model estimates that for the identified items, 120 439 kg of pesticides in excess of U.S. tolerances could potentially be imported to the U.S., in cases where U.S. regulations are more protective than those of originating countries. This figure is in addition to residues allowed on domestic produce. In the modeling, the top produce item, market, and pesticide of concern were oranges, Chile, and Zeta-Cypermethrin. Pesticides in this review are associated with health effects on 13 body systems, and some are associated with carcinogenic effects. Conclusions: There is a critical information gap regarding pesticide residues on produce imported to the U.S. Without a more thorough sampling program, it is not possible accurately to characterize risks introduced by produce importation. The scenario presented herein relies on assumptions, and should be considered illustrative. The analysis highlights the need for additional investigation and resources for monitoring, enforcement, and other interventions, to improve import food safety and reduce pesticide exposures in originating countries. Keywords: Pesticides, Agriculture, International Trade, Policy, Food Safety

Background Agriculture indicates that 48.8 percent of fresh fruits and Since the 1980 ’ s, fruit and vegetable consumption has  25 percent of fresh vegetables consumed in the U.S. in risen across the U.S. About half of the increased demand 2010 were grown abroad. This reflects a significant for fresh fruit and a quarter of the demand for fresh vege- increase from 1990, when only 40.4 percent of fresh fruits tables has been met by imports. Since NAFTA was signed and 9.9 percent of fresh vegetables were imported in 1992, fruit and vegetable importation to the U.S. from (Glaser, L., USDA, personal communication, October 24, trade partners has nearly quadrupled [1]. The primary 2011). For some produce items, importing is relatively drivers of U.S. consumer demand include the desire to  consistent year round; others vary seasonally. eat off-season and tropical fruit items, promotion of pro- Countries exporting produce to the U.S. are required to duce-rich diets, and lower prices available from other adhere to U.S. pesticide tolerance limits, defined as the countries, particularly when supported by favorable amount that may legally remain on food post-production. terms in trade agreements [1,2]. The U.S. Department of U.S. agencies perform fairly low levels of testing on these imports, as will be described; information thus remains * Correspondence: [e-mail] limitedontheextenttowhichtheseim t p i o ci rt d s er m e ay id e u x e p s o o s r e 1 Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public U.S. consumers to elevated levels of pes s Health, 615 N. Wolfe St. Suite W7010, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179, USA other contaminants, relati ve to domestically grown Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2012 Neff et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.