Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276

Washington, DC 20250

PDP July through September 2017 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 1 

July 10, 2017

TO: See Distribution List

FROM: Diana Haynes

Director, Monitoring Programs Division

SUBJECT: Program Plan, July through September 2017 – Pesticide Data Program,

Version 1.0

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

September 2017 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 2016 PDP Annual Summary is being drafted and is anticipated to be released before 

the end of the calendar year.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial:

Final Cooperative Agreements for Fiscal Year 2017 are being processed for all PDP 

participating States.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: The PDP 2017 Federal/State Meeting was held May 2-4, 

2017 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Attendees included PDP Administrative Managers, 

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

well as representatives from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, USDA, EPA, FDA, and 

industry.

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: 2017.07.11 10:27:31 -04'00'
PDP July through September 2017 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 2 

D. Advisory Committees:

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

Saeed Akhtar (New York), Don Gallegos (Colorado) and Nathan Chambers 

(Washington). Saeed Akhtar serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG.

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

Karen Stephani (New York), Gail Parker (Florida) and Hugh Robinson (Texas). Karen 

Stephani serves as the Presiding Member of the TAG.

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2017 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2017

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule (v 1.2) is posted on the PDP Extranet site.

The PDP FY2018 PT program schedule is being drafted and will be released in July 

2017. 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 July 1, 2017

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis

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 

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

February 2018. The target retirement date for the Web-RDE system is April 2018. 

An upgrade to the RDE e-SIF system (V5.0) was developed and distributed to State 

Sampling Managers in October 2016. The new version captures the package/container 

type separate from the commodity type, accepts larger entries in text fields like the Lot# 
PDP July through September 2017 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 3 

and facility name, and eliminates the postharvest fungicide labeling entry. The e-SIF 

Clearinghouse system at MPD was modified to process incoming e-SIFs in both the old 

(V4.1) and new (V5.0) formats. All e-SIFs received in the new (V5.0) format are being 

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. A deadline of July 1, 

2017 was established for the required upgrade to RDE e-SIF V5.0 for all State samplers. 

Having all samplers using V5.0 will make 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 expanded tolerance table was issued on January 3, 2017 containing tolerances for all 

commodities in the program at that time. An updated tolerance table is scheduled for 

release in July 2017 containing tolerances for all commodities in the program. The next 

tolerance table is expected to be issued in January 2018 and will include the commodities 

entering the program in October 2017 and January 2018.

II. PROGRAM SAMPLING AND TESTING UPDATES

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

Sampling Managers by MPD. Shipping Charts for the 3rd quarter of calendar year 2017

are attached to this document. Actual shipping dates and fact sheets have been issued

under separate cover.

Sampling Deletions

Cucumber collection ended June 30, 2017.

Lettuce collection ended June 30, 2017.

Honey collection ends August 31, 2017.
PDP July through September 2017 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 4 

Sampling Additions

Asaparagus was added July 1, 2017. Asparagus will remain in the program for two 

years. Samples will be shipped to the Washington (WA1) laboratory. Refer to the current 

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

Cabbage was added July 1, 2017. Cabbage will remain in the program for two years. 

Samples will be shipped to the Florida (FL1) laboratory. Refer to the current commodity 

fact sheet for sample selection, packaging and shipping guidelines. 

Sampling Continuations

Applesauce, bottled water, fresh/frozen cranberries, grapefruit, kale, milk, olives, 

onions, canned pineapple, snap peas, sweet potatoes, and canned tomatoes continue 

to be sampled. Sampling of honey ends August 31, 2017.

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts

January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017 = 14 commodities

x Remove grapes, oranges, pears, potatoes, and spinach

x Add bottled water, kale, onions, canned pineapple, and snap peas

April 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017 = 15 commodities

x Added honey

September 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017 = 14 commodities

x Removed cucumbers and lettuce

x Add asparagus and cabbage

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions

Cucumber collection ended June 30, 2017. This ended multi-residue testing of 

cucumbers by the Florida (FL) laboratory.

Lettuce collection ended June 30, 2017. This ended multi-residue testing of lettuce by 

the Washington (WA1) laboratory.

Testing Additions
PDP July through September 2017 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 5 

Asaparagus was added July 1, 2017. Asparagus will remain in the program for two 

years. 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.

Cabbage was added July 1, 2017. Cabbage will remain in the program for two years. 

Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Florida (FL1) laboratory. Commodity 

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

to the PDP Extranet site.

Testing Continuations

Applesauce, bottled water, fresh/frozen cranberries, grapefruit, kale, milk, olives, 

onions, canned pineapple, snap peas, sweet potatoes, and canned tomatoes continue 

to be tested. Sampling and testing of honey ends August 31, 2017.

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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