Occurrence of Pesticide Residues in Selected Agricultural Food Commodities Available in Canada

During the 27-month period between January 1, 1992, and March 31,1994, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada analyzed 21 982 samples of fruit and vegetable commodities for pesticide residues. A multiresidue method capable of detecting over 200 analytes was used. In 5784 domestic samples a total of 676 residue findings were made. Of these, 32 (0.55%) were in violation of Canadian maximum residue limits (MRLs).In 16 198 imported products, 464 of 3193 residue findings exceeded MRLs, corresponding to a violation rate of 2.86%. One-half of domestic violations resulted from commodity–pes ticide combinations for which there are no Canadian approvals.