Pesticide Residues in Food Are Called Safe, Despite Tests

WASHINGTON — Pesticide residues in food do not pose a health hazard, even though more than 3% of the food tested by the government had illegal amounts or types of pesticides, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

“Many seem to believe that we are consuming large and harmful amounts of pesticide residues,” FDA Commissioner Frank E. Young said. “That’s a myth, and another myth is that any residue, no matter how little or how legal, is harmful.”

The FDA said Friday that less than 1% of the fresh foods tested show more pesticides than allowed by federal guidelines. An additional 3% had illegal pesticide residues, which the agency called “technical violations, such as an otherwise approved pesticide residue being found on the ‘wrong’ crop.”

“The actual residues found are almost always much lower than the tolerances allow,” Young said. “Furthermore, residues usually will disappear or decrease during processing, washing and cooking.”

However, a report by the Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General said the government system to assure that meat is free of dangerous chemicals has broken down.

Predictable inspections and ineffective follow-up methods hamper federal efforts to detect chemical contamination, trace it back to its source and determine if violations are continuing, said the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Des Moines Register.