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Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program
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DPR samples individual lots of domestic and imported produce and analyzes them for pesticide residues to enforce the tolerances set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Samples are collected from throughout the channels of trade, including wholesale and retail outlets, distribution centers, and farmers markets. DPR Enforcement Branch staff collects the samples, and delivers them to a California Department of Food and Agriculture laboratory where all are tested with multiresidue screens capable of detecting more than 200 pesticides and breakdown products. In addition, selected samples receive specific analysis for nonscreenable pesticides of enforcement concern.
For more information on California’s Residue Monitoring Program, please see Regulating Pesticides: The California Story, Chapter 9, PDF (204 kb).
Summaries of DPR Report Residues in Fresh Produce
Annual Residue Data
Beginning in 2007, there are two formats for data - compressed (zipped) and an Excel spreadsheet. Earlier residue files are compressed into self-extracting executable files. Please note: These files extract as tab-delimited text and should be viewed with a spreadsheet program (i.e., Excel, Lotus).
- 2011 (executable, 457 kb) (Excel, 2 mb)
- 2010 (executable, 518 kb) (Excel, 2.4 mb)
- 2009 (executable, 580 kb) (Excel, 2.6 mb)
Supplementary information to assist in interpreting the residue data:
- Commodity sampling history, 1986 to present, PDF (38 kb)
- Data dictionary – terms used in residue data files
- Glossary, PDF (43 kb) – terms used in the Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program
- County code table – numeric codes assigned to each county
- Origin table – state or country of commodity origin
- Pesticide tolerances – allowable residue levels
Fact Sheets
- Setting Tolerances for Pesticide Residues in Food, a U.S. EPA fact sheet
- Pesticides and Food: How We Test for Safety, PDF (130 kb) – DPR 2-page fact sheet about our monitoring program
- What Is a Pesticide?, PDF (115 kb) DPR 2-page fact sheet
Databases on Pesticide Characteristics and Use
- Pesticide use reporting – DPR database of reported use of pesticides
- Extoxnet, a searchable resource of information on pesticides, written for the nonexpert by scientists from a number of cooperating universities
- National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), a U.S. EPA-funded pesticide information service
Additional Information
- Food safety information and links
- FoodSafety.gov, federal portal to pesticide-related information
- U. S. Department of Agriculture Pesticide Data Program
- U. S. Food and Drug Administration Residue Monitoring Reports
For content questions contact:
Mike Papathakis
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
Telephone: (916) 445-4023
Fax: (916) 445-3907
E-mail: mpapathakis@cdpr.ca.gov