Accumulated pesticide and industrial chemical findings from a ten-year study of ready-to-eat foods. KAN-DO Office and Pesticides Team.

This report lists the pesticide and industrial chemicals found in the ready-to-eat foods tested repetitively for 10 years through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Revised Market Basket Study. The study operated from 1982 to 1991. During that time 37 market baskets, each containing 234 food items that represented about 5000 food types in American diets covering all age groups, including infants and children, were collected. Each food item was individually prepared for eating; that is, it was opened, unwrapped, washed, peeled, sliced, formulated by recipe, or cooked. Each item was then composited and analytically screened for about 300 different chemicals, including chlorphenoxy acids, ethylenethiourea, methyl carbamates, organochlorines, organophosphates, organosulfurs, phenylureas, and pyrethroids. Overall, less than 1% of the potential of 2.5 million findings occurred for the 10-year study period. In total, 138 different chemical residues accounted for 17 050 accumulated findings. Most findings were less than 1 microgram/g, which is considered a low-level finding. Each food item averaged about 2 low-level findings per analysis.