Pesticides FFDCA provisions

The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) represents amendments to FIFRA as well as FFDCA. These amendments fundamentally change the way EPA regulates pesticides. The requirements included a new safety standard for ensuring a reasonable certainty of no harm that must be applied to all pesticides used on foods. Readers interested in the FQPA should check the Web site at http //www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/laws/fqpa. This Web site provides background information on the provisions of FQPA and discusses some of the specific issues raised by FQPA as well as status of implementation of this important new law. The following are some important changes (FQPA, 1996). 

Most of the current efforts to amend FIFRA concentrate on the tolerance and food safety provisions of FIFRA and the FFDCA. For years the EPA has interpreted the Delaney Clause of the FFDCA to impose a negligible risk standard for pesticide residues on food, whereas others, including influential environmental groups, read the section to allow zero risk. EPA s interpretation was struck down by the Ninth Circuit in Les v. Reilly. The EPA asked the Supreme Court to review that decision. Their petition was denied on March 8, 1993. Legislation has been proposed on several occasions to change the outcome of Les v. Reilly however, none to date has been adopted... 

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