Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276

Washington, DC 20250

PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 1

August 15, 2018

TO: See Distribution List

FROM: Diana Haynes

Director, Monitoring Programs Division

 

SUBJECT: Program Plan, October through December 2018 – Pesticide Data Program

(PDP), Version 1.0

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

through December 2018 for each of the States participating in the Pesticide Data Program 

(PDP). The contents of the Plan have been discussed with the U.S. Environmental 

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

I. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES

A. Summary Status: 

The 2017 PDP Annual Summary is being drafted and is expected to be released by the 

end of the calendar year.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial: 

Final Cooperative Agreements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 have been issued to all PDP 

participating States.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: The PDP 2018 Federal/State Meeting was held February 

20-22, 2018 in Crystal City, Virginia. Attendees included PDP Administrative Managers, 

Sampling Managers, Technical Program Managers, and Quality Assurance Officers as 

well as representatives from USDA, EPA, FDA, and industry.

D. Advisory Committees:

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

Gallegos (Colorado), Nathan Chambers (Washington), and Barbara Sparkman (Texas).

Don Gallegos serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG.
PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 2

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

Parker (Florida), Hugh Robinson (Texas), and Frank Barretta (Michigan). Gail Parker 

serves as the Presiding Member of the TAG.

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2019 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2019

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule (v 1.0) is posted on the PDP Extranet 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 Released February 1, 2018

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

Validation and Quality Control

SOPs Released April 1, 2018

• PDP-DATA: Data and Instrumentation

SOPs Released July 1, 2018

• PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis

• PDP-SAMP: Sampling Procedures for PDP

SOPs to be Released October 1, 2018

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

G. Electronic Transfer of Data

RDE Version Upgrades:

The Monitoring Programs Division (MPD) staff is currently developing a new, 

distributed RDE application that will be built in MS-Access and installed at each 

participating laboratory. This system will replace the Web-based RDE system used by 

participating laboratories. The Web-RDE system uses outdated software components that 

are no longer supported and does not allow easy fixes or modifications. 

The new RDE system will allow easy implementation of changes to table structures to 

expand field sizes, add new fields, or even add new data tables, which the existing WebRDE restricts because of registration problems with the separate .DLL components that 

handle the file import process. Compatibility and security issues with the web browser 

environment will also be eliminated, such as problems with generating/displaying reports 

in Web-RDE and importing files using the Java runtime applet. Transfer of completed 

datasets will be handled by e-mail or posting to the PDP Extranet site. The target 

completion date for the new, local RDE system is October 2018. The target retirement 

date for the Web-RDE system is by March 2019. 
PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 3

File import functions stopped working in the Web-RDE system in February 2018 and 

USDA was not able to fix the problem. All labs that were importing datasets from their 

LIMS into RDE are now e-mailing the import databases to MPD and the data are being 

imported directly into the RDE database using a local importing tool. This procedure 

will likely be in place until the local RDE system is rolled-out.

The e-SIF Clearinghouse system is rolling-back all e-SIFs to the old (V4.1) format when 

the e-SIF text files are generated for import to Web-RDE and delivery to labs. Once a lab 

is ready to use the new distributed RDE application, e-SIFs in the new (V5.0) format will 

be sent. Sample data that were left off the rolled-back e-SIF will be restored when the 

group/set holding the sample is uploaded from RDE into the central PDP calendar-year 

database at MPD. All State samplers are now using RDE e-SIF V5.0, which makes the 

data review process at the receiving labs easier and faster.

H. Presumptive Tolerance Violation Reporting

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

on a monthly basis. FDA utilizes the PTV reports in choosing commodities that require 

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

reregistration decisions. MPD is also providing 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 will be issued in October 2018 containing tolerances for all

commodities in the program at this time including those that will enter the program in 

October 2018 and January 2019. The table shows tolerances (and FDA action levels for 

organochlorines) for pesticides on all current and upcoming PDP commodities. With 

almost 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) or the Informa Agrow Pesticide Chemical News Guide (PCNG), online version. 

Blank spaces in the table indicate that no tolerance is established or referenced in the 

PCNG or 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 Chart for the 4th quarter of calendar 

year 2018 is attached to this document. Actual shipping dates and fact sheets will be 

issued under separate cover.
PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 4

Sampling Deletions

Cranberry (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018. 

Garbanzo bean (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018.

Mango collection ends September 30, 2018.

Olive (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018.

Plum (dried)/ prune collection ends September 30, 2018.

Sampling Additions

Basil/cilantro will be added October 1, 2018. Basil/cilantro will remain in the program 

for one year, total, with a six-month survey of each planned, beginning with basil. All 

samples will be shipped to the New York (NY1) laboratory. Refer to the current 

commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging and shipping guidelines. 

Peas (canned/frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Canned and frozen peas will 

remain in the program for one year. All samples will be shipped to the Texas (TX1) 

laboratory. Refer to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging and 

shipping guidelines. 

Rice will be added October 1, 2018. Rice will remain in the program for one year. All 

samples will be shipped to the California (CA1) laboratory. Refer to the current 

commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging and shipping guidelines.

Spinach (canned/frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Canned and frozen spinach will 

remain in the program for one year. Samples will be shipped to the California (CA1) and 

Texas (TX1) laboratories. Refer to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, 

packaging and shipping guidelines. 

Strawberries (frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Frozen strawberries will remain in 

the program for one year. All samples will be shipped to the Washington (WA1) 

laboratory. Refer to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging and 

shipping guidelines. 

Sampling Continuations

Asparagus, cabbage, green onions, kale, kiwis, peaches (canned), raisins, snap peas, and 

wheat flour continue to be sampled. Green onions, kale, canned peaches, raisins, snap 

peas, and wheat flour end December 31, 2018.
PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 5

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts

April 1, 2018 through May 31, 2018 = 14 commodities

• Removed sweet potatoes

• Added kiwis

June 1, 2018 through August 31, 2018 = 15 commodities

• Added heavy cream

September 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018 = 14 commodities

• Removed heavy cream

October 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 = 14 commodities

• Remove canned cranberries, canned garbanzo beans, mangoes, canned olives, and 

plums (dried)/prunes

• Add basil/cilantro, peas (canned/frozen), rice, spinach (canned/frozen), and 

strawberries (frozen)

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions

Cranberry (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018. This ends multi-residue testing 

of canned cranberries by the Texas (TX1) laboratory.

Garbanzo bean (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018. This ends multi-residue 

testing of canned garbanzo beans by the New York (NY1) laboratory.

Mango collection ends September 30, 2018. This ends multi-residue testing of fresh 

mangoes by the California (CA1) and Texas (TX1) laboratories.

Olive (canned) collection ends September 30, 2018. This ends multi-residue testing of 

canned olives by the California (CA1) laboratory.

Plum (dried)/ prune collection ends September 30, 2018. This ends multi-residue testing 

of plums (dried)/prunes by the Washington (WA1) laboratory.

Testing Additions

Basil/cilantro will be added October 1, 2018. Basil/cilantro will remain in the program 

for one year, total, with a six-month survey of each planned, beginning with basil. Multiresidue testing will be performed by the New York (NY1) laboratory. Commodity 

specific requirements regarding analytes of interst are listed in the memorandum posted 

to the PDP Extranet site.
PDP October through December 2018 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 6

Peas (canned/frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Canned and frozen peas will 

remain in the program for one year. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Texas 

(TX1) laboratory. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interst are 

listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Rice will be added October 1, 2018. Rice will remain in the program for one year. Multiresidue testing will be performed by the California (CA1) laboratory. Commodity 

specific requirements regarding analytes of interst are listed in the memorandum posted 

to the PDP Extranet site.

Spinach (canned/frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Canned and frozen spinach will 

remain in the program for one year. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the 

California (CA1) and Texas (TX1) laboratories. Commodity specific requirements 

regarding analytes of interst are listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet 

site.

Strawberries (frozen) will be added October 1, 2018. Frozen strawberries will remain in 

the program for one year. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Washington 

(WA1) laboratory. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interst are 

listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Testing Continuations

Asparagus, cabbage, green onions, kale, kiwis, peaches (canned), raisins, snap peas, and 

wheat flour continue to be tested. Green onions, kale, canned peaches, raisins, snap peas, 

and wheat flour end December 31,2018.

C. Web Site for PDP Information:

For Pesticide Data Program information check out our Internet Web Site:

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

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