The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), enacted on August 3,1996, brought about significant changes in the way in which pesticides are registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If not implemented properly, the new requirements of FQPA could lead to the removal from the market of a number of beneficial pesticide products and cause substantial disruptions for agriculture in the United States. For many of these products, there is no suitable alternative pest control tool or the substitute pesticide may not be as efficacious or it may be more costly. Ultimately, the potential loss of many existing products could place American farmers at a disadvantage with foreign growers in competing nations who will continue to enjoy access to a variety of effective pesticides in use today. EPA must rely upon the principles of sound science and base its decisions on actual data when making these important FQPA decisions.

This report details the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) progress in implementing the requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). It reflects how implementation furthers EPA's mission to protect human health & the environment & assures all Americans access to safe & affordable foods. Sections include: FQPA -- the basics; lowering the risks of pesticides; ensuring the safety of existing pesticides; transparency & public participation; special protection for vulnerable populations; on the forefront of sound science; partners & other stakeholders; & appendices.

The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), governing U.S. registration, sale, and use of pesticide products, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), under which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets allowable pesticide residue levels for food (tolerances). The FQPA mandates a "reasonable certainty of no harm" from pesticide exposure and requires reevaluation of tolerances against this standard by August 2006. The Act directs EPA to evaluate aggregate exposure risks of individual pesticides and cumulative risks of various pesticides with similar toxic effects. EPA must modify tolerances that are not safe and amend registrations (labels) for the associated pesticides. EPA has reported that it is meeting statutory deadlines, but this claim is disputed by environmental groups. A test case for FQPA implementation is evaluation of risks for organophosphate (OP) insecticides, used on many fruits, vegetables, and grains. EPA already has canceled registrations for some OP uses. EPA has issued a preliminary and a revised cumulative OP risk assessment, and plans to complete evaluation of OP risks in 2003. Agricultural and public health groups have challenged the FQPA implementation pace and process in court. This report will be updated as events warrant.