Risks from never-registered pesticides on imported foods remain unknown

Background: The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 17(a), requires that before an unregistered pesticide is exported, the foreign purchaser must sign a Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgement Statement (FPAS) acknowledging awareness the pesticide is not registered and cannot be sold for use in the United States. This review evaluated whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has properly implemented FIFRA Section 17(a) and whether controls are in place to ensure the safety of imported foods. Methods: We interviewed EPA's Office of Pesticides Programs (OPP) officers and external environmental and public health organizations. We reviewed FY 2007 FPAS database to analyze trends, registration statuses, and destinations. We reviewed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food-related import refusals and FDA regulatory monitoring violations data for cancelled pesticide residues. We used ArcGIS to prepare maps. Results: We reviewed 2,291 FPASs received in FY 2007. Fifty-five of these FPASs, less than three percent, were forwarded to foreign officials. EPA does not know pesticide class, volume, use, or final destination for all unregistered U.S. pesticide exports. EPA cannot provide FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with information needed to monitor and detect pesticide residues from never-registered pesticides. Conclusions: The extent of danger posed by never-registered pesticides in the food supply remains unknown due to the lack of information on export. Risks posed to the U.S. food supply from registered and cancelled pesticides are mitigated through EPA tolerance actions and FDA regulatory enforcement. Manufacturer export data submitted to EPA is insufficient to assess human health and environmental hazards posed to importing countries or dietary risk posed to the U.S. food supply. Limited export notification data fail to capture the quantity, foreign commodity usage, and residue detection standards necessary for EPA, FDA, and USDA to monitor U.S. never-registered pesticide exports and their potential re-entry on imported foods.