EPA has taken some steps to prevent situations where a breakdown product common to different pesticides could collect into a larger overall dose in the body. A tolerance has been set to limit the total amount of TCP in food. Federal and local agencies can remove and destroy any food found to have pesticide residues above these limits. In 1997, FDA analyzed 4,501 domestic food samples and 5,342 imported foods. The imported foods came from 97 different countries.
States also monitor food samples for pesticide residues.
Two kinds of violative residues were reported. Presence of a pesticide residue at levels higher than the tolerance limit was one kind. No violative residues were found in milk, dairy products, eggs, bananas, apple juice, grains and grain products, and seafood. No violative residues were found in imported milk, dairy products, eggs, seafood, bananas and apple juice. Imported bananas are often suspected as having a lot of pesticide residues.