The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS) published its 2022 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary on January 30, 2024, showing that over 99 percent of samples tested had pesticide residues below the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) established benchmark levels. Additionally, 27.6 percent of samples had no detectable residue. However, testing for persistent environmental contaminants that are no longer used as pesticides in the U.S. showed the presence of certain banned chemicals at varying levels in some food commodities.
USDA AMS tested a total of 10,665 samples from 23 commodities including fresh and processed vegetables and fruits, grains, nuts, and dairy. To collect PDP data, USDA works with state agencies representing all census regions of the country and nearly half of the U.S. population. In 2022, analyzed samples were collected in California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.