The Environmental Working Group’s 2026 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce highlights PFAS pesticides for the first time. Although EWG recently updated its methodology, scientists argue it still does not consider key exposure science and risk assessment principles, therefore misleading consumers about the health risks of conventionally grown produce.
Like the Healthy Florida First initiative’s previous reports on toxic heavy metals in candy and infant formula, details that would help contextualize the findings have not been disclosed, such as the sampling and testing methodology or relevant safety thresholds
AOAC INTERNATIONAL and the Minor Use Foundation will jointly develop and validate harmonized analytical methods for multi-residue pesticide analysis, particularly for spices and other priority commodities.
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ingredient in herbicide Roundup), which has been cited for decades in regulatory decisions and pesticide approvals, has been retracted after litigation revealed undisclosed conflicts of interest undermining the study’s integrity.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.
