Expanding and tracking the capabilities of pesticide multiresidue methodology used in the Food and Drug Administration's pesticide monitoring programs.

Foods analyzed for pesticide residues in the monitoring programs of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are most often examined by using one or more of the multiresidue methods developed for this purpose over the years. Because no single method can be used for all potential residues, each commodity is examined by a method or methods which will identify and/or determine the chemicals most likely to have been used. FDA conducts research to develop new multiresidue methods, which are included in monitoring programs as needed to cover additional chemicals. FDA's multiresidue methods have undergone continuous study over a 20 year period to ascertain which compounds can and cannot be recovered by them. FDA continues to perform tests to discover a compound's analytical characteristics. Protocols have been published to direct the testing of additional compounds so that new information can be added to the existing compilations. Methods capable of determining residues of single pesticides are used to analyze selected commodities for residues of high priority that cannot be determined by existing multiresidue methods. Pestrak, a computerized listing of pesticide analytical information, has been developed by FDA to keep track of the capabilities of multiresidue methods and the coverage of residues by the single residue methods used in FDA monitoring.