The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for a number of activities that contribute to food security within the United States, in areas such as food safety, water quality, and pesticide regulation. The Agency is responsible both for the registration of new pesticides and the re-registration of older pesticides to ensure that they meet current scientific standards. EPA sets "tolerances," which are the maximum amount of pesticides that may legally remain in or on food and animal feed, and works with the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture to ensure that these limits are not exceeded.

Recommended EPA Web pages

• Pesticides and Food: What You and Your Family Need to Know
  Discusses the risks and benefits of pesticide use on food, and how consumers can reduce their exposure to pesticides.
• EPA and Food Security
  Discusses EPA's primary contributions to protect the public from pesticides on food.