An Independent Analysis of the 2011 USDA Pesticide Residue Data

7/30/2019 An Independent Analysis of the 2011 USDA Pesticide Residue Data

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An Independent Analysis of the 2011

Data From the USDA-AMS Pesticide

Detection Program

Steven D. Savage, Ph.D.

Savage&Associates

Applied Mythology Blog

[email protected]
http://www.savageagro.com/http://appliedmythology.blogspot.com/http://appliedmythology.blogspot.com/http://www.savageagro.com/


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Contents

High Level Summary

Background and Methodology

Summary Statistics

Pesticide Detections Relative to

Crop/Compound-Specific EPA

Tolerances

Detections Relative to Tolerance

Differences by Country of Origin

Detections Relative to Intrinsic Toxicity

(Acute Oral ALD50)

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indicates hyperlinkswhich work in slide

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High Level SummaryAs has been the case for many years, the

USDAs Pesticide Detection Program (PDP)

confirms that between thorough regulation,

grower training and grower compliance with

EPA label restrictions, the fruit and

vegetable in the US from both domestic and

import sources can be eaten with

confidence because pesticide residues,

when present, are at very low levels which

do not represent any significant risk to the

consumer. There are minor differencesbetween crops and sources, but none that

deserve to be called dirty.

EWG has ranked 51 crops by its measure

of how much pesticide residue is present

(lower number = more pesticides). When

that is compared with a more appropriate

measure such as the percent of detectionsthat are at less than one tenth of the EPA

tolerance, there is no correlation

Pesticide residues were also detected on

many of the organic samples picked at

random as part of the PDP. Those were

also at low levels.

Comparison of an EPA Tolerance-based Measure

and the EWG Ranking

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

EWG Rank (high = "cleane r")

%D

etectionsTolerance 0.18

Tolerance 0.49


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2011 PDP Results

(USDA-AMS Pesticide Detection Program)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20

Natural Log of Detection/Oral ALD50

PercentofDetections

AllAll

Detections Relative to

Acute Toxicity for All

Fruits and Vegetables

All

Higher than the LD50 0.00Equal to the LD50 0.00

More than 1/10th the LD50 0.06

Less than 1/10th the LD50 99.94


Less than 1/1,000th the LD50 93.54


Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

Only 0.6% (6) of all the detections were within 1/10 th of the LD50 with the

highest single example (a hot pepper) still having a 6x safety factor.

Someone would have to rapidly eat six times their body weight of those

specific peppers to get that toxic dose, but the toxicity of the capsaicin

would effect them first. Also, for perspective, the safety margin for the

caffeine in an ordinary cup of coffee is only 2.13.


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Comparison of

detections with and

without tolerances

2011 USDA-AMS Pesticide Detection Program

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7

Log10 of Detection/LD50

PercentofDetecti

ons

Detections withTolerances

Detections w/o

Tolerances

10x100x

1,000x

10,000x

The X values represent how many times someones body

weight of the produce they would need to consume to get to atoxic dose

With a few exceptions, the detections of materials

without crop-specific tolerances were quite a bit lower

relative to the compounds LD50 than the detection of

compounds with tolerances


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Detections Equal to Or Above EPA Tolerance for All

Crops

Detections Relative to Tolerance

0

0.5

1

1.5

22.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

All

BabyFood-GreenBeans

BabyFood-Pea

rs

Bab

yFood-SweetPota

to

Cabbag

e

Cantaloupe

Cauliflow

er

CherryTomatoes

HotPeppe

rs

Lettuce

Mushroom

s

Onion

OrangeJuice

Papaya

Plum

s

SnapPeas

Spinach,Canned

Spinach,Frozen

SweetBellPeppe

rs

Tangerines

WinterSquash

PercentofDetections

>Tolerance

Equal Tolerance

In the 2011 PDP,

detections above

tolerance were only

found for cabbage,

cantaloupe, snap peas,

frozen spinach and

sweet bell peppers.

The USDA and EPA

concluded that these

detections did not

represent any

significant risk.

Canned beets werealso tested in 2011

(756 samples), but

there were no residues

detected at all


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Detections Relative to Acute Toxic Dose for All Crops

Detections Relative to Oral ALD50

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

All

Ba

byFood-GreenBeans

BabyFood-Pears

BabyFood-SweetPotato

Cabba

ge

Cantalou

pe

Cauliflower

CherryTomatoes

HotPeppers

Lettu

ce

Mushroo

ms

Onion

OrangeJu

ice

Papa

ya

Plu

ms

SnapPe

as

Spinach,

Canned

Spinach,

Frozen

SweetBellPepp

ers

Tangerines

WinterSquash

PercentofD

etections

>0.1 x LD50

>0.01 x LD50

In the 2011 PDP,detections with less

that a 10x safety factor

were only found in a

few samples from hot

peppers, sweet

peppers and tangerines

the safety factor is the

number of times ones

body weight that would

have to be consumed

to reach the LD50

dose). Just for

reference, the safety

factor for a typical cupof coffee (90 mg of

caffeine) is only 2.13

(one would have to

drink 2 times their body

weight of coffee to hit

the LD50)


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Pesticide Detections Relative to Crop- and Compound-

Specific EPA Tolerances

Baby Food Green Beans

Pears

Sweet Potatoes

Cabbage Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Cherry Tomatoes

Hot Peppers

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Onions Orange Juice

Papayas

Plums

Snap Peas

Spinach, Canned

Spinach, Frozen

Sweet Bell Peppers Tangerines

Winter Squash


14/60

Baby Food, Green

Beans (584 Samples)

Baby Food - Green Beans

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


15/60

Baby Food, Pears

(585 Samples)

Baby Food - Pears

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


16/60

Baby Food, Sweet

Potato (585 Samples)

Baby Food - Sweet Potato

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


17/60

Cabbage

(742 Samples)

Cabbage

>Tolerance 0.96

Tolerance 0.00


18/60

Cantaloupe

(739 Samples)

Cantaloupe

>Tolerance 0.25

Tolerance 0.25


19/60

Cauliflower

(186 Samples)

Cauliflower

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


20/60

Cherry Tomatoes

(738 Samples)2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

210-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Natural Log of Detection/Tolerance

Pe

rcentofDetections

Cherry Tomatoes

All

Cherry Tomatoes

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.55


21/60

Hot Peppers

(553 Samples)

Hot Peppers

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.22


22/60

Lettuce

(744 Samples)

Lettuce

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


23/60

Mushrooms

(186 samples)

Mushrooms

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


24/60

Onions

(186 Samples)

Onion

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


25/60

Orange Juice

(585 samples)

Orange Juice

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


26/60

Papayas

(384 Samples)

Papaya

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


27/60

Plums

(143 Samples)

Plums

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


28/60

Snap Peas

(744 Samples)2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

210-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Pe

rcentofDetections

Snap Peas

All

Snap Peas

>Tolerance 1.92

Tolerance 4.11


29/60

Spinach, Canned

(198 Samples)

Spinach, Canned

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


30/60

Spinach, Frozen

(198 Samples)

Spinach, Frozen

>Tolerance 0.73

Tolerance 0.00


31/60

Sweet Bell Peppers

(741 samples)2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

210-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


PercentofDetections

Sweet Bell

Peppers

All

Sweet Bell Peppers

>Tolerance 0.04

Tolerance 0.50


32/60

Tangerines

(717 Samples)

Tangerines

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.00


33/60

Winter Squash

(186 Samples)

Winter Squash

>Tolerance 0.00

Tolerance 0.41


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Detections Relative to Tolerance Differences by

Country of Origin

US and Mexico

US and Canada

US and Guatemala

US and Chile

US and Peru


35/60

US and Mexico

All US

>Tolerance 0.18 0.05

At Tolerance 0.49 0.15


36/60

US and Canada

All US




37/60

US and Guatemala

All US




38/60

US and Chile

All US




39/60

US and Peru

All US




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Detections Relative to Intrinsic Toxicity (Acute Oral ALD50)

Baby Food Green Beans

Pears

Sweet Potatoes

Cabbage Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Cherry Tomatoes

Hot Peppers Lettuce

Mushrooms

Onions Orange Juice

Papayas

Plums

Snap Peas

Spinach, Canned

Spinach, Frozen

Sweet Bell Peppers

Tangerines

Winter Squash


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2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


PercentofDetections

Baby Food - GreenBeans

All

Baby Food Green

Beans

Baby Food - Green Beans







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

The safety margin for even the highest detection in green bean baby food was

still more than 100x the childs body weight


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2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


PercentofDetections

Baby Food - Pears

All

Baby Food - Pears

Baby Food - Pears







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

To reach a toxic dose, someone would have to eat more than 1000 times their

body weight of the pear baby food sample with the highest detected residue


43/60

2011 PDP Results


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


PercentofDetections

Baby Food - SweetPotato

All

Baby Food Sweet

Potato

Baby Food - Sweet Potato

Higher than the LD50 0.00

Equal to the LD50 0.00






Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

The only detections in sweet potato baby foods were at extremely low levels

relative to the intrinsic acute toxicology of the compound


44/60

2011 PDP Results


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


PercentofDetections

Cabbage

All

Cabbage

Cabbage








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


45/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Cantaloupe

All

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


46/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Cauliflower

All

Cauliflower

Cauliflower








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


47/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Cherry Tomatoes

All

Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


48/60

2011 PDP Results


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Hot Peppers

All

Hot Peppers

Hot Peppers








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

There were 3 detections of hot peppers with less than a 10x

safety margin relative to the LD50 (all the oxime metabolite of

oxamyl, margins 6-7.7), but the capsaicin would have a lower

safety margin.


49/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Lettuce

All

Lettuce

LettuceHigher than the LD50 0.00







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


50/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Mushrooms

All

Mushrooms

Mushrooms








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


51/60

2011 PDP Results


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Onion

All

Onions

Onion








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


52/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Orange Juice

All

Orange Juice

Orange Juice








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


53/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Papaya

All

Papayas

Papaya








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


54/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Plums

All

Plums

Plums







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


55/60

2011 PDP Results


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Snap Peas

All

Snap Peas

Snap PeasHigher than the LD50 0.00







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


56/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Spinach, Canned

All

Spinach, Canned

Spinach, CannedHigher than the LD50 0.00







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


57/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Spinach, Frozen

All

Spinach, Frozen

Spinach, FrozenHigher than the LD50 0.00







Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


58/60

Sweet Bell Peppers 2011 PDP Results(USDA-AMS Pesticide Detection Program)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Sweet Bell Peppers

All

Sweet Bell Peppers








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


59/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Tangerines

All

Tangerines

Tangerines








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000


60/60

2011 PDP Results


0

5

10

15

20

25

20-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20


Pe

rcentofDetections

Winter Squash

All

Winter Squash

Winter Squash








Percentages

1/101/100

1/1,000

LD50

1/10,000

Documents

An Independent Analysis of the 2011 USDA Pesticide Residue Data