The official position of the US Food and Drug Administration on fruit and vegetable pesticides.

Perceived Problem: Fruits and vegetables contain harmful pesticides.
Possible Solutions:

It is a fact that pesticides are used in the production of most fruits and vegetables sold in this country. They help protect crops from insects, diseases, weeds, and mold, thus helping to increase crop yield. "They allow for production of a plentiful and affordable food supply," said John Jones, Ph.D., in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

"They are not contaminants. They are substances applied intentionally for a specific purpose and therefore are subject to very rigorous regulatory control," he said. "A new pesticide law enacted in 1996 puts even tighter controls on the use of pesticides."

Several federal agencies share responsibility for pesticide oversight. The Environmental Protection Agency registers pesticides for food use and sets tolerance levels--the upper permitted limit for pesticide residues in individual foods. FDA enforces these limits for all foods except meat and poultry, which fall under USDA's jurisdiction.

FDA collects and analyzes almost 10,000 samples of fruits and vegetables yearly for pesticide residues. Since 1987, when the agency began reporting the results of its monitoring program annually, more than 99 percent of domestic fruit and vegetable samples and more than 95 percent of imported samples have been found free of illegal pesticide residues or had low-level residues that fell within established tolerances. Violations mainly occurred because low-level pesticide residues not approved for a particular product were identified in that food. However, most of the pesticides causing these violations were approved for use on many other foods, Jones said.

"Most violations are not due to the presence of banned pesticides, such as DDT, chlordane and heptachlor, or to very high levels of residues," he said. "Most are due to very low-level residues on the wrong commodity."

So, FDA's position is that the U.S. fruit and vegetable supply does not contain excessive pesticide residues and that the benefits of eating fresh produce far exceeds any risk from residues, Jones said.

However, if you're still concerned, here are some steps you can take to reduce your risk further:

Wash fruits and vegetables with water and scrub with a dish brush when appropriate: for example, before eating apples, cucumbers, potatoes, or other produce in which the outer skin or peeling is consumed.

Throw away the outer leaves of leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and cabbage.

Peel and cook when appropriate, although some nutrients and fiber may be lost when produce is peeled.