Pesticides

Different standards in two key pesticide laws--the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act--have led to differences in the way pesticides used on foods are regulated. These differences have their basis in law rather than science. As a result, pesticides that have been found to cause cancer may be used on some foods but not on others, and the benefits of using pesticides, such as increased crop yields, may be considered in some but not all regulatory decisions. Several proposals are before Congress to establish a single regulatory standard. This report discusses (1) the federal pesticide laws and the policies that the Environmental Protection Agency developed to implement them and (2) legislative options for establishing a single standard for regulating the use of pesticides on food.

GAO found that: (1) because of conflicting pesticide legislation, EPA often applies different standards of risk for carcinogenic pesticides in different situations and considers the benefits of using pesticides in some instances but not in others; (2) EPA allows the use of carcinogenic pesticides on raw foods and certain processed foods when it has determined that the risk of cancer is negligible; (3) EPA policies to reconcile the differences in the pesticide laws have been overruled in court; (4) EPA expects that the court's decision will prove costly for the agricultural and pesticide industries and for EPA regulation resources; (5) modifying EPA administrative policies would not resolve the legal differences in pesticide legislation; and (6) Congress could establish a single standard for carcinogenic pesticides by amending the existing laws.