Importing and Exporting Foods
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
Tolerance Information
Codex Alimentarius Commission
FOA/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues
Food imported into the U.S. is subject to a variety of Federal laws,
administered by a number of different Federal agencies.
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
Federal Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) 
-- Section 408 of the FFDCA permits EPA to establish, modify, or revoke
tolerances or exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance (e.g. Maximum
Residue Limits) at its initiative or in response to petitions submitted.
These tolerances or exemptions cover pesticide chemical residues present
in or on the food produced in and outside the U.S. The FFDCA prohibits
movement in interstate commerce of adulterated and misbranded foods.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) samples imported and domestic
foods to ensure that pesticide residues are within established tolerances
or are covered by exemptions. EPA-established tolerance levels are
listed in Parts 180-186 of Title 40 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations,
and are available on the EPA website www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/viewtols.htm.
Additional information about FDA
monitoring and import procedures
is available on FDA's web site.
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), Poultry Products Inspection
Act (PPIA), and Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) --
While FDA is responsible for pesticide residue monitoring and enforcement
of most foods, the USDA's Food
Safety and Inspection Service
is responsible for the wholesomeness and safety of meat, poultry, and
egg products intended for human consumption under the authority of FMIA,
PPIA, and EPIA. For pesticide residues, this is accomplished by
sampling and analyzing edible tissues.
Tolerance
Information
This is a searchable data base which identifies all the pesticide tolerances
established on all foods.
Codex Alimentarius Commission
The Codex Alimentarius is a joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World
Health Organization (WHO) program to protect the health of consumers and
to ensure fair trade practices in food trade. It develops international
food safety standards, including pesticide Maximum Residue Limit recommendations.
National governments can choose whether or not to accept and use the
Codex MRL recommendations as national standards.
- Many developing countries depend upon Codex MRLs to set acceptable
pesticide residue levels in their own countries.
- Industrialized countries with long-established regulatory programs
review the Codex MRL recommendations and usually accept them when they
are consistent with their national standards.
In addition to governmental representation from 165 member countries,
other international organizations and consumer, environmental, and industry
non-governmental groups participate as observers in Codex activities,
EPA contributes technical expertise to the development of these international
standards and tries to ensure that they are compatible with U.S. levels.
The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 placed increased emphasis on
using Codex MRLs in setting U.S. tolerances for pesticide residues, to
the extent feasible. For more information on Codex, visit FAO's
Codex home page.
FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues
(JMPR)
Codex Alimentarius decisions on maximum pesticide residue limits are
supported by risk assessments developed by independent international experts
serving on the JMPR.
- Scientific experts invited by the World Health Organization (WHO)
review toxicological and related data and estimate, when possible, acceptable
daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (RfD) of the pesticides
for humans.
- Members invited by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) review pesticide use patterns, data from supervised field trials
and food processing studies, and pesticide chemistry data (storage stability,
metabolism, methods of analysis).
- The FAO panel recommends maximum residue limits (MRLs) and identifies
the specific residues to be monitored for MRL enforcement.
- Risk assessments for chronic effects are based on the ADI or RfD combined
with data on likely dietary exposure, given different regional diets,
while assessments for acute effects consider exposure at the maximum
amount of the food expected to be consumed over a one day period.
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