Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276

Washington, DC 20250

PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 1 

August 16, 2016

TO: See Distribution List

FROM: Diana Haynes

Director, Monitoring Programs Division

SUBJECT: Program Plan, October through December 2016 – Pesticide Data Program,

Version 1.1

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

through December 2016 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 2015 PDP Annual Summary is in the process of being drafted and is anticipated to be 

released before the end of the calendar year.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial:

The fiscal year (FY) ends on September 30, 2016 for States with FY funding. Ensure all 

FY16 expenses have been obligated on or prior to this date. Final 270s are due no later 

than December 31, 2016.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: The PDP Federal/State Meeting was held April 19-21, 

2016 in Sacramento, California. Attendees included PDP Administrative Managers, 

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

well as representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the 

California Farm Bureau Federation, USDA, EPA, FDA, and industry.

D. Advisory Committees:

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

McManus (Maryland), Saeed Akhtar (New York), and Don Gallegos (Colorado). Ken 

McManus serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG.

DIANA 

HAYNES

Digitally signed by DIANA HAYNES 

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, 

ou=Department of Agriculture, cn=DIANA 

HAYNES, 

0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=12001000170119 

Date: 2016.08.16 08:08:33 -04'00'
PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 2 

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

Sarva Gunjur (California), Karen Stephani (New York), and Lida Ogg (Ohio). Sarva 

Gunjur serves as the Presiding Member of the TAG.

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2016 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2016

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule (v 1.3) 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, 2016

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instrumentation

x PDP-QC: Chemical Compounds, PDP Commodity Grouping, Method Validation, 

and Quality Control

SOPs Released May 1, 2016

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

SOPs Released July 1, 2016

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis

SOPs to be Released February 1, 2017

x PDP-QC: Chemical Compounds, PDP Commodity Grouping, Method Validation, 

and Quality Control

SOPs to be Released April 1, 2017

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instrumentation

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 data 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. The local database will 

give labs access to data entered so that ad-hoc queries or customized reports can be run 
PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 3 

for State-required production reports. Transfer of completed datasets will be handled by 

e-mail or posting to the PDP Extranet site. This distributed RDE system will allow 

laboratories to continue PDP data entry, review, and reporting activities when USDA 

Web resources are shut down. MPD expects the new, distributed RDE system to be ready 

for deployment in the first half of 2017. A pilot project will be conducted with two or 

three labs using the new RDE system prior to full roll-out. 

An upgrade to the RDE e-SIF system (V5.0) has been developed and will be distributed 

to State Sampling Managers in September 2016. The new version captures the 

package/container type separate from the commodity type, accepts larger entries in text 

fields like the Lot# and facility name, and eliminates the postharvest fungicide labeling 

entry. The e-SIF Clearinghouse system at MPD will be modified to process incoming eSIFs in both the old (V4.1) and new (V5.0) formats. All e-SIFs received in the new 

(V5.0) format will be rolled-back 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..

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 expanded tolerance table was issued on April 8, 2016 containing tolerances for all 

commodities in the program at that time. The next tolerance table is expected to be issued 

in October 2016 and will include the commodities entering the program in October 2016.

II. PROGRAM SAMPLING AND TESTING UPDATES

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

Sampling Managers by MPD. A draft Shipping Chart for the 4th quarter of calendar year

2016 is attached to this document. Actual shipping dates and fact sheets will be sent 

under separate cover with the final version of the Shipping Chart.

Sampling Deletions

Egg collection ends August 31, 2016.
PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 4 

Apple collection ends September 30, 2016.

Green bean collection ends September 30, 2016.

Strawberry collection ends September 30, 2016.

Tomato collection ends September 30, 2016.

Sampling Additions

Applesauce will be added October 1, 2016. Applesauce will remain in the program for 

one year. Samples will be shipped to the Washington (WA1) laboratory. Refer to the 

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

Cranberries – fresh/frozen will be added October 1, 2016. Fresh and frozen cranberries 

will remain in the program for two years. Samples will be shipped to the Texas (TX1) 

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

and shipping guidelines.

Olives will be added October 1, 2016. Olives will remain in the program for two years. 

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

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

Tomatoes - canned will be added October 1, 2016. Canned tomatoes will remain in the 

program for one year. Samples will be shipped to the New York (NY1) laboratory. Refer 

to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging, and shipping 

guidelines. 

Sampling Continuations

Cucumbers, grapefruit, grapes, lettuce, milk, oranges, pears, potatoes, spinach, and 

sweet potatoes continue to be sampled. Sampling of grapes, oranges, pears, potatoes, and 

spinach end December 31, 2016.

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts

April 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016 = 15 commodities

x Remove cherries

x Add sweet potatoes

x Add eggs

July 1, 2016 through August 31, 2016 = 15 commodities

x No changes
PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 5 

September 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016 = 14 commodities

x Remove eggs

October 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016 = 14 commodities

x Remove apples, green beans, strawberries, tomatoes

x Add applesauce, fresh/frozen cranberries, olives, canned tomatoes

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions

Egg collection ends August 31, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of eggs by the AMS 

National Science Laboratory (NSL, US2).

Apple collection ends September 30, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of apples by 

the Washington (WA1) laboratory.

Green bean collection ends September 30, 2016, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of 

green beans by the Texas (TX1) laboratory.

Strawberry collection ends September 30, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of 

strawberries by the California (CA1) laboratory.

Tomato collection ends September 30, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of tomatoes 

by the New York (NY1) laboratory.

Testing Additions

Applesauce will be added October 1, 2016. Applesauce 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 interest are listed in the 

memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Cranberries – fresh/frozen will be added October 1, 2016. Fresh/frozen cranberries will 

remain in the program for two years. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the 

Texas (TX1) laboratory. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest 

are listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Olives will be added October 1, 2016. Olives will remain in the program for two years.

Multi-residue testing will be performed by the California (CA1) laboratory. Commodity 

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

to the PDP Extranet site.
PDP October through December 2016 Program Plan, v1.1 Page 6 

Tomatoes - canned will be added October 1, 2016. Canned tomatoes will remain in the 

program for one year. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the New York (NY1) 

laboratory. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest are listed in 

the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Testing Continuations

Cucumbers, grapefruit, grapes, lettuce, milk, oranges, pears, potatoes, spinach, and 

sweet potatoes continue to be tested. Sampling and testing of grapes, oranges, pears, 

potatoes, and spinach end December 31, 2016.

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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