Food Safety

GAO testified on the difficulties in assessing the risks and benefits of pesticides used in food. Three federal agencies--the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture--share responsibility for providing pesticide regulatory services to both food consumers and providers. These services are meant to screen out pesticides that present unreasonable risks and approve those that are beneficial. GAO makes three main points. First, assessing the risks and benefits of pesticides used in food is uncertain. Limitations in scientific methodologies and relevant data preclude precise estimates of the hazards, exposures, and benefits of pesticide use and prevent the government from assessing food safety as reliably as possible. Second, problems persist in collecting and managing data needed to develop more precise estimates of pesticide risks and benefits. Third, controversial policy issues continue to hamper pesticide regulation. For example, inconsistencies in the statutory provisions governing carcinogenic pesticide residues in food have not been resolved. GAO raises several larger policy issues, including (1) how much the United States wants to invest to reduce the uncertainty surrounding pesticides used on food and (2) whether the measurable gains of reducing this uncertainty will be worth the costs of doing so.