Healthier People
Promoting Food Safety Through Pesticide Management
EPA is continuing its work to fully implement the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), which was enacted in 1996 and significantly strengthened safety provisions of the Nation's pesticide laws. This effort will ensure that all pesticides used on food commodities are held to the highest standards of safety. Under FQPA, EPA is conducting a comprehensive reassessment of nearly 10,000 food tolerances for maximum allowable pesticide residues on food. FQPA sets several milestones for EPA to accomplish this task. In 2002, EPA completed the second phase of tolerance reassessment, having finalized the evaluation of two-thirds of all existing food tolerances. EPA is on track to complete all tolerance reassessment by August 2006 as called for in the law.