On Thursday, July 24, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) released its annual produce monitoring report which found that about 97 percent of fruits and vegetables sold in California had either no detectable pesticide residues or had residues below federal health-protective limits.
The results are based on 3,544 produce samples collected in 2023 by DPR staff from more than 500 locations statewide. The unpeeled, unwashed samples are tested for 500 types of pesticides and related compounds. Samples are considered illegal when detections exceed health-protective “tolerances” set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The 2023 California Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program Report by the Numbers:
Thirty-nine percent of samples had no detectable pesticide residues.
Fifty-eight percent of samples had no pesticide residues above U.S. EPA tolerances.
Three percent of the samples collected had illegal residues.
Of the 1,059 produce samples labeled as “grown in California,” fewer than one percent had pesticide residues above U.S. EPA tolerances.
Of the 96 samples with illegal pesticide detections, 83 percent involved imported produce.
Of 379 samples labeled as organic, two percent had illegal residues.
“California works diligently to protect the public by keeping food with illegal pesticide residues out of the marketplace,” DPR Director Karen Morrison said. “Our residue testing program demonstrates the safety of our fruits and vegetables in California. We see consistently low levels of illegal pesticide residues on produce.”
U.S. grown produce continues to have significantly fewer illegal pesticide residues than imported produce. Fruits and vegetables originating from Mexico continued to show high percentages of illegal residues (six percent of the 1,132 samples taken). However, Ecuador had the highest percentage of violations (23 percent of the 13 samples taken), followed by Guatemala (10 percent of 21 samples) and China, (nine percent of 11 samples).
In 2023, DPR issued 103 quarantine notices for more than 154,000 pounds of produce carrying illegal pesticide residues. DPR referred nine cases of illegal California-grown samples to County Agricultural Commissioners in Fresno, Imperial, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, and Ventura counties for further for investigation.
Some produce with high percentages of violations included: Yard-long beans (4 of 4 samples, 100 percent), cactus pear (3 of 5 samples, or 60 percent), guava (3 of 7 samples, or 43 percent), dragon fruit (3 of 4 samples, or 75 percent), chayote (2 of 14 samples, or 14 percent), cilantro (2 of 14 samples, or 14 percent), and, pineapple (4 of 32 samples, or 13 percent).
California’s DPR collects samples of produce all year long from retail grocery stores and markets, wholesalers and distributors, and other businesses that sell fresh fruits and vegetables. In selecting samples, the department prioritizes sampling produce frequently eaten by children, produce consumed by different ethnic and socioeconomic groups, types of produce or countries of origin with a history of violations and produce treated with pesticides listed under California’s Proposition 65 as carcinogens or reproductive toxins.
The samples are tested by the California Department of Food and Agricultural lab for 500 types of pesticides and related compounds and compared to federal tolerances. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tolerances are established for specific pesticides used on specific crops. Violations include samples with residues that exceed allowable tolerances as well as samples that contain pesticides for which there is no established tolerance.
When illegal detections are found, the department traces the produce back to the store, distributor and farmer from which it came. Produce with illegal detections are quarantined and may be destroyed to prevent further distribution.
