A paper from the year 2000 suggesting the safety of glyphosate (the active ingredient in herbicide Roundup), which has been cited for decades in regulatory decisions and pesticide approvals, has been retracted after litigation revealed undisclosed conflicts of interest undermining the study’s integrity.
As in years past, USDA’s Pesticide Data Program reports that more than 99 percent of foods sampled in 2024 were compliant with EPA pesticide residue limits. Some persistent organic pollutants, like DDT, continue to show up in crops.
FDA has published its annual Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program report for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 2023), summarizing findings from FDA testing of human and animal foods for pesticides.
The proposed EU Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package targets "overlapping and disproportionate rules" that burden agri-food businesses and national authorities, covering plant protection, feed additives, official controls, and animal health. The package's pesticide deregulation measures have garnered criticism from environmental protection groups.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has proposed to suspend registered approvals for dimethoate products on berries after new dietary exposure estimates suggested a potential human health risk.
A global scientific review warns that one of the world’s most widely used groups of agricultural chemicals, strobilurin fungicides, are found in food and water, the environment, and humans—and that they may have toxic effects.
The final Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report was unveiled in a September 9 press conference led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Food safety, consumer, and environmental stakeholder groups criticize the report’s deregulatory approach and lack of enforceable actions.
Denmark has banned 23 pesticides containing six active ingredients known to break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) that easily contaminates water and has been found in food products.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a report that investigates the occurrence of 21 active substances frequently detected on organic products that are approved for use in plant protection products, but are not allowed in organic food production.
The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG’s) 2025 Dirty Dozen list considers pesticide toxicity for the first time. While critics say the list is alarmist and may discourage the consumption of safe fruit and vegetables, EWG argues that “legal does not mean safe” when it comes to pesticide residues.
