§1401 Pesticide monitoring and enforcement information

Summary

The Secretary of Health and Human Services must set up computerized data systems for the Food and Drug Administration no later than 480 days after August 23, 1988. The systems must record and analyze the FDA’s testing for pesticide residues in food, point out gaps in testing (which pesticides, which foods, and which countries or domestic sources), spot trends and possible health problems, and help the FDA target tests at residues that matter for public health. The systems must also make summaries and give information to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Secretary must also, as soon as possible, make the systems able to produce a separate import-volume summary. The FDA can use these systems or build more, but must follow government rules for computer design and buying. Using the systems, the FDA must produce yearly summaries (no later than 90 days after the first year ends, and every year after) that cover: the kinds of imported and domestic foods tested, how many samples by country, what residues the tests can find, what residues and levels were found, compliance and violation rates by country-food, and what was done with violating samples. For imports, the summaries must show country of origin and district of entry. When feasible, the import-volume summary must report amounts and entry value by country and district using other federal data. The annual compilations must be shared with federal and state agencies and other interested parties.