Pesticides

Limited Testing Finds Few Exported Unregistered Pesticide Violations on Imported Food Gao ID: RCED-94-1 October 6, 1993

Have unregistered pesticides produced in the United States for export been returning to this country as residues on imported food? Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agriculture Department (USDA) have done only limited testing, the results GAO reviewed showed few violations of residue tolerances among unregistered exported pesticides on foods imported into the United States. The lack of timely and complete data on exported unregistered pesticides, however, prevents USDA from testing imported foods for these pesticides. FDA's current sources of information are inadequate to identify new pesticides promptly. Moreover, the law does not require manufacturers to provide reference standards and test methods for unregistered pesticides. Without that information, FDA is unable to do the tests necessary to spot violations.

GAO found that: (1) of the 27 unregistered pesticides U.S. manufacturers produce for export, 19 have never been registered and 8 have been fully or partially cancelled; (2) limited testing has found few violations of residue tolerances; (3) Mexican produce has accounted for over 50 percent of the pesticide violations on imported foods; (4) FDA does not test all 27 pesticides because some pesticides are not likely to leave a residue, the United States imports little produce from the countries where the pesticides are used, or it is unaware of their existence; (5) USDA has tested only 3 of the 27 pesticides because it lacks specific information on the health effects of the untested pesticide residues; (6) residues from unregistered pesticides may not come from U.S.-manufactured pesticides, since some unregistered pesticides are manufactured in other countries; (7) FDA lacks sufficient information to identify all exported unregistered pesticides and their use; and (8) FDA does not have sufficient reference standards and testing methodologies to test all unregistered pesticides.

Recommendations

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