FOOD SAFETY ISSUES SPUR NEW TESTING

Abstract

Even though the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world, concerns about the safety of food remain. Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996—the most significant pesticide and food safety regulation in many years—set new requirements on what kinds of data must be collected and analyzed to ensure a safe food supply. Pesticide Data Program (PDP) at the Department of Agriculture seeks to address concerns about food safety by collecting real data on what pesticide residues are actually present on foods. Through its network of labs around the country, it collects and tests a variety of samples of some of the most common foods consumed by Americans, especially by children. According to Edward Zager, acting associate director of health effects in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pesticide Programs, The nice thing about the program is that it has a very strong quality control aspect. USDA's laboratory procedures ...