Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW 

Monitoring Programs Division Stop 0275 

 Washington, DC 20250 

February 15, 2023 

TO: See Distribution List 

Digitally signed

FROM: Brenda Foos BRENDA by BRENDA FOOS 

Director, Monitoring Programs Division (MPD) Date: 2023.02.15 FOOS 08:37:52 -05'00' 

SUBJECT: Program Plan, April through September 2023 – Pesticide Data Program 

This Program Plan serves as the current Statement of Work for the period April through 

September 2023 for each of the States participating in the Pesticide Data Program (PDP). 

Aspects of this Plan have been coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the PDP participating States for their 

continuing collaboration with PDP and dedication to the program. We look forward to 

working with each of you on the activities described in this Program Plan. 

I. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES 

A. Summary Status: 

The 2021 PDP Annual Summary and dataset were posted to the PDP website on December 

17, 2022. Printed copies will be available at a future date. All PDP data for 2022 are due 

to MPD by March 30, 2023. 

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial: 

Cooperative Agreements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 have been issued to all PDP 

participating States with funding provided by the Continuing Resolution. The full funding 

allocations for FY 2023 are being processed. 

The current FY ends on September 30, 2023. States should ensure all expenses have been 

obligated on or prior to the end of the 2023 cooperative agreements on December 31, 2023; 

however, any changes to the cooperative agreement funding levels must be made prior to 

September 30, 2023. 

C. Program Meetings: 

PDP Federal/State Meeting: 

PDP April through September 2023 Program Plan Page 1 
 

 

 

 

The PDP Federal/State meeting for 2023 was held January 31 to February 2, 2023, in 

Tallahassee, Florida. The next Federal/State meeting will be hosted by the Washington 

State Department of Agriculture in Spring, 2024. Attendees will include PDP 

Administrative Managers, Sampling Managers, Technical Program Managers, and Quality 

Assurance Officers, as well as representatives from the host State, USDA, EPA, FDA, and 

invited guest speakers. 

D. Advisory Committees:

Sampling Advisory Group: Members of the Sampling Advisory Group (SAG) are Brian 

Regan (Michigan), Chris Schiralli (New York), and Nathan Chambers (Washington). 

Brian Regan serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG. 

Technical Advisory Group: Members of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) are Sarva 

Balachandra (California), Jason Kong (Ohio), and Jennifer Barker (Texas). Sarva 

Balachandra serves as the Presiding Member of the TAG. 

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2023 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2023

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule is posted on the PDP SharePoint site. Refer to

SOPs PDP-ADMIN and PDP-QC for PT program requirements, reporting procedures,

acceptability criteria, and requirements for potential follow-up actions.

F. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs):

SOP to be Released June 1, 2023 

• PDP-QC: Chemical Compounds, PDP Commodity Grouping, Method 

Validation and Quality Control 

SOP to be Released September 1, 2023 

• PDP-ADMIN: Administrative Procedures for the Pesticide Data Program 

G. Electronic Transfer of Data

Remote Data Entry (RDE) Version Upgrades: 

The latest version of the local/distributed RDE tool used by PDP laboratories is Build 6, 

which was released in May 2022. Build 6 included modifications to speed up the display 

of data on the Maintain Samples screen and to fix an identified glitch with the Export Data 

to Excel function. Labs should continue to report identified glitches and suggested 

enhancements to the MPD staff for inclusion in a future RDE build. 

MPD has initiated a project with USDA IT staff for developing a new RDE e-SIF 

application to replace the one that has been used by State sample collectors since 2003. 

Ideally, the software will work on multiple platforms, i.e., smartphones, tablets, and laptops 

PDP April through September 2023 Program Plan Page 2
 

running Apple iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems, to give sample collectors 

greater flexibility and mobility. This modernization will allow the capture of commodity 

photos and barcode data, which will improve the detail and accuracy of captured sample 

information. The application is expected to be developed internally by USDA IT staff. 

H. Presumptive Tolerance Violation Reporting

Data for Presumptive Tolerance Violations (PTVs) are communicated to FDA and EPA 

monthly. FDA uses the PTV reports in choosing commodities that require more focused 

sampling initiatives. EPA uses the data for dietary risk assessments and pesticide 

registration review decisions. MPD also provides the data to USDA’s Office of Pest 

Management Policy (OPMP) for communication to grower groups, the Foreign 

Agricultural Service (FAS) to assist in facilitating the export of domestic commodities, and 

the National Organic Program (NOP) to inform them of any potential PTVs detected on 

claimed organic samples. PDP States may request a copy of the monthly PTV report by 

contacting MPD. 

An updated tolerance table was emailed in January 2023 containing tolerances for all 

commodities in the program at this time, including those that entered the program in 

January 2023. The table shows tolerances (and FDA action levels for organochlorines) for 

pesticides on all current PDP commodities. With over 700 pesticides and metabolites, there 

is information for over 10,000 pesticide/commodity pairings. This table includes 

permanent, interim, regional, and section 18 emergency tolerances as stated in the 

electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). Blank spaces in the table indicate that no 

tolerance is established or referenced in the eCFR, part 40, section 180. 

II. PROGRAM SAMPLING AND TESTING UPDATES

A. Sampling Changes and Rotations: Shipping charts are distributed quarterly to

Sampling Managers by MPD. The draft shipping charts for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of

calendar year 2023 will follow this document. Final shipping dates and fact sheets will be

issued under separate cover.

Sampling Deletions 

Celery collection ends June 30, 2023. 

Plum collection ends June 30, 2023. 

Sampling Additions 

Apples will be added July 1, 2023. Apples will remain in the program for two years. All 

samples will be shipped to the Florida (FL1) Laboratory. Refer to the current commodity 

fact sheet for sampling selection, packaging, and shipping guidance. 

PDP April through September 2023 Program Plan Page 3
 

Blackberries will be added July 1, 2023. Blackberries will remain in the program for two 

years. All samples will be shipped to the Washington (WA1) laboratory. Refer to the 

current commodity fact sheet for sampling selection, packaging, and shipping guidance. 

Sampling Continuations 

Baby food - apples, baby food – carrots, baby food – green beans, baby food – peaches, 

baby food – pears, baby food – peas, baby food – sweet potatoes, grapes, mushrooms, 

potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelon continue to be sampled. 

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts 

April 1, 2023 through June 30, 2022 = 14 commodities 

• No additions or deletions 

July 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023 = 14 commodities 

• Remove celery and plums 

• Add apples and blackberries 

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions 

Celery collection ends June 30, 2023. This ends multi-residue testing of celery by the 

Florida (FL1) laboratory. 

Plum collection ends June 30, 2023. This ends multi-residue testing of plums by the 

Washington (WA1) laboratory. 

Testing Additions 

Apples will be added July 1, 2023. Apples will remain in the program for two years. Multiresidue testing will be performed by the Florida (FL1) laboratory. Commodity specific 

requirements regarding analytes of interest have been listed in the memorandum 

communicated to the laboratory. 

Blackberries will be added July 1, 2023. Blackberries will remain in the program for two 

years. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the (WA1) laboratory. Commodity 

specific requirements regarding analytes of interest have been listed in the memorandum 

communicated to the laboratory. 

Testing Continuations 

Baby food – apples, baby food – carrots, baby food – green beans, baby food – peaches, 

baby food – pears, baby food – peas, baby food – sweet potatoes, grapes, mushrooms, 

potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelon continue to be tested. 

PDP April through September 2023 Program Plan Page 4
 

III. Website for PDP Information:

For additional Pesticide Data Program information check out our website: 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/pdp 

State collaborators may request access to the PDP SharePoint site. Please contact MPD 

for more information. 

PDP April through September 2023 Program Plan Page 5