Agricultural commodities, both domestic and imported, may occasionally contain very low residual levels of agricultural chemicals that do not pose a risk to consumers. These chemicals have been applied to protect the growing crop and/or as a post-harvest protectant for transport and storage. As analytical detection methods become more precise, lower levels of these chemicals can be detected in food products. In situations where there is no EPA-defined tolerance or tolerance exemption, the imported commodities are considered adulterated by the FDA. When this occurs, the agricultural commodities are often destroyed, adding to the approximately 60 billion tons of food that is wasted each year in the U.S.  and resulting in financial and environmental costs that are eventually passed on to the consumer. In this study we report the current volume of commodities imported into the U.S., pesticides residue violations, and possible opportunities.<br/>

Pesticides residue regulations governing U.S. commodity imports

256th National Meeting (2018)

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