The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates pesticides, which includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, disinfectants, plant growth regulators and other substances intended to control pests. Pesticides have many uses: in agriculture, greenhouses, and on lawns; in swimming pools, industrial buildings and households; and in hospitals and food service establishments. Overall, there are about 20,000 registered pesticide product formulations, containing approximately 675 active ingredients and 1,835 inert ingredients

Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA)

The pesticide registration program acquired significant new dimensions on August 3, 1996, when the Food Quality Protection Act was enacted. FQPA, which amends both FIFRA and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), establishes a new safety standard for pesticide residues in food and emphasizes protecting the health of infants and children. Under FQPA, all pesticide food uses must be "safe"; that is, EPA must be able to conclude with "reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure" to each pesticide from dietary and other sources. In determining allowable levels of pesticide residues in food, the Agency must conduct a comprehensive assessment of each pesticide's risks, considering: Aggregate exposure of the public to residues from all sources including food, drinking water, and residential uses; Cumulative effects of pesticides and other substances with common mechanisms of toxicity; Special sensitivity of infants and children to pesticide; and Estrogen or other endocrine effects. Within ten years of enactment of the new law (by the end of 2006), EPA must reassess all existing "tolerances" (maximum limits for pesticide residues in foods) and exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance, for both the active and inert ingredients in pesticide products. The Agency must consider the pesticides posing the greatest potential risks first, to ensure that they meet FQPA's new safety standard. For more information on The Food Quality Protection act, go to www.epa.gov/agriculture/lqpa.html.

The "Minimum-Risk" Pesticide Category

 

Minimum risk pesticides are certain products exempted from EPA registration containing only active ingredients outlined in FIFRA 40 CFR 152.25(g) (“the 25b list”) and inert ingredients currently identified on Federal Register Notice 59 FR 49400 (“the 4A list”). The EPA has determined the ingredients on these lists do not pose any risk to humans or the environment. The lists can be seen at www.epa.gov (actives) and www.epa.gov (inerts), respectively. Products that qualify as exempt do not have an EPA registration number on their labels.

Currently, twenty states honor the federal exemption. For individual state registration requirements pertaining to federally exempt pesticides, click here.