Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW 

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276 

Washington, DC 20250 

August 14, 2020 

TO: See Distribution List 

Digitally signed by

FROM: Brenda Foos BRENDA BRENDA FOOS 

Date: 2020.08.14 Director, Monitoring Programs Division FOOS 12:42:38 -04'00' 

SUBJECT: Program Plan, October 2020 through March 2021 – Pesticide Data 

Program, Version 1.0 

This Program Plan serves as the current Statement of Work for the period October 2020 

through March 2021 for each of the States participating in the Pesticide Data Program 

(PDP). Aspects of the 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 you all of the PDP participating states for 

their continuing collaboration with PDP and dedication to the program in 2020. I look 

forward to continuing to work with each of you on the activities described in this 

Program Plan. 

I. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES 

A. Summary Status: 

The 2018 PDP Annual Summary and dataset were posted to the PDP website on 

December 10, 2019, and printed copies have been distributed. The draft 2019 PDP 

Annual Summary is currently under review and is expected to be released by the end of 

the calendar year. 

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial: 

Final Cooperative Agreements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 have been issued to all PDP 

participating States. The current FY ends on September 30, 2020 for States with FY 

funding agreements. Ensure all expenses have been obligated on or prior to this date. For 

States with calendar year agreements, ensure all expenses have been obligated on or prior 

to December 31, 2020. 

C. Program Meetings: 

PDP Federal/State Meeting: 

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 1 
 

The March 2020 meeting that was scheduled to be held in Tallahassee, Florida has been 

postponed to 2021. Attendees will include PDP Administrative Managers, Sampling 

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

representatives from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 

USDA, EPA, FDA, and industry. 

D. Advisory Committees: 

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

Barbara Sparkman (Texas) and Brian Regan (Michigan). Barbara Sparkman serves as the 

Presiding Member of the SAG. 

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

Hugh Robinson (Texas) and Lucy Kaminski (Ohio). Hugh Robinson serves as the 

Presiding Member of the TAG. 

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2021 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2021 

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): 

SOPs to be Released December 1, 2020 

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis 

SOPs to be Released March 1, 2021 

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instrumentation 

G. Electronic Transfer of Data 

Remote Data Entry (RDE) Version Upgrades: 

The Monitoring Programs Division (MPD) staff is developing a Build 4 upgrade to the 

local/distributed RDE tool to add a new feature for importing results for an existing 

group/set and samples. This can greatly decrease the amount of manual data entry needed 

by labs that do not import PDP data from a Laboratory Information Management System 

(LIMS). The upgrade process will be handled by replacing the front-end database file 

with a new version of that file on every lab computer that has the Local RDE app 

installed. The new database file will be extracted from a ZIP file that is downloaded 

from the USDA CloudVault site using a provided link. The Build 4 upgrade is expected 

to be released by the end of 2020. 

MPD is planning to initiate a contracted project for developing a new RDE e-SIF system 

to replace the one that has been in use since 2003. Ideally, the software will work on 

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 2 
 

multiple platforms, i.e. smartphones, tablets, and laptops 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. 

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 registration 

review 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 was emailed in April 2020 containing tolerances for all 

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

April 2020. 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) or the Informa Agrow U.S. Tolerance 

Tracker online version. Blank spaces in the table indicate that no tolerance is established 

or referenced in the U.S. Tolerance Tracker 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 charts for the 4th quarter of calendar 

year 2020 and 1st quarter of calendar year 2021 will follow this document. Final shipping 

dates and fact sheets will be issued under separate cover. 

Sampling Deletions 

Collard collection ends September 30, 2020. 

Orange juice collection ends September 30, 2020. 

Tomato paste collection ends September 30, 2020. 

Apple juice collection ends December 31, 2020. 

Banana collection ends December 31, 2020. 

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 3 
Radish collection ends December 31, 2020. 

Sampling Additions 

Blueberries will be added October 1, 2020. Blueberries 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. 

Green beans will be added October 1, 2020. Green beans will remain in the program for 

two years. All samples will be shipped to the California (CA1) laboratory. Refer to the 

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

Summer squash will be added October 1, 2020. Summer squash will remain in the 

program for two years. Samples will be split between the California (CA1) and Texas 

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

packaging, and shipping guidance. 

Grape juice will be added January 1, 2021. Grape juice will remain in the program for 

one year. All samples will be shipped to the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. Refer to the current 

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

Pears will be added January 1, 2021. Pears will remain in the program for two years. All 

samples will be shipped to the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. Refer to the current commodity 

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

Peaches will be added January 1, 2021. Peaches 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. 

Sampling Continuations 

Sweet bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, mandarins 

(tangerine), and winter squash continue to be sampled. 

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts 

April 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 = 14 commodities 

x Remove kiwi 

x Add carrots 

October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 = 14 commodities 

x Remove collards, orange juice, and tomato paste 

x Add blueberries, green beans, and summer squash 

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 4 
 

January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021 = 14 commodities 

x Remove apple juice, bananas, and radishes 

x Add grape juice, peaches, and pears 

B. Testing Deletions and Changes: 

Testing Deletions 

Collards collection ends September 30, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of collards 

by the Washington (WA1) laboratory. 

Orange juice collection ends September 30, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of 

orange juice by the California (CA1) laboratory. 

Tomato paste collection ends September 30, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of 

tomato paste by the California (CA1) and Texas (TX1) laboratories. 

Apple juice collection ends December 31, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of apple 

juice by the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. 

Banana collection ends December 31, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of bananas 

by the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. 

Radish collection ends December 31, 2020. This ends multi-residue testing of radishes 

by the Florida (FL1) laboratory. 

Testing Additions 

Blueberries will be added October 1, 2020. Blueberries 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. 

Green beans will be added October 1, 2020. Green beans 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. 

Summer squash will be added October 1, 2020. Summer squash will remain in the 

program for two years. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the California (CA1) 

and Texas laboratories. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest 

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

Grape juice will be added January 1, 2021. Grape juice will remain in the program for 

one year. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. 

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 5 
 

Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest are listed in the 

memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site. 

Pears will be added January 1, 2021. Pears will remain in the program for two years. 

Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Ohio (OH1) laboratory. Commodity 

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

to the PDP Extranet site. 

Peaches will be added January 1, 2021. Peaches 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 

Sweet bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, mandarins 

(tangerine), and winter squash continue to be sampled. 

C. Web Site for PDP Information: 

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

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

PDP October 2020 through March 2021 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 6