Background: In November 2024, USDA released its Pesticide Data Program (PDP) report for calendar year 2023. The report includes pesticide residue data from samples of fresh apples and also baby food applesauce.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture selects a basket of commodities for pesticide residue testing under its PDP, with a strong focus on foods that are consumed by infants and children. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) incorporates multiple safety factors in setting the legal tolerances for pesticide residues in food. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for enforcing the EPA tolerances.

Summary of Findings:

  • 354 samples of fresh apples were tested
  • 710 samples of baby food applesauce were tested
  • The testing analyzed for the presence of 595 pesticides and environmental contaminants
  • 100% of the samples tested were well within the pesticide tolerances established by EPA
  • 100% of the fresh apple and baby food applesauce samples had zero positive detections for environmental contaminants

Apples
For fresh apples, Pyrimethanil was detected in 220 of the 354 samples, making it the most frequently detected residue. The highest level of any pesticide detected on fresh apples was also Pyrimethanil, with one sample testing at 9.3 parts per million (ppm, equivalent to 9 seconds in 12 days) versus the EPA tolerance of 15 ppm. Said another way, the ‘worst’ sample tested for which tolerances have been set, contained residues at only 62 percent of the EPA tolerance. Pyrimethanil is a pre- and postharvest fungicide.

Two apple samples tested positive for Chlorpropham, with the highest level detected being 6.1 parts per billion (ppb, equivalent to 6 seconds in 32 years). There is no EPA tolerance for this compound, meaning the FDA would have considered those two samples to be violative, even at this vanishingly small quantity. Chlorpropham is a plant growth regulator and herbicide.

Baby Food Applesauce
For baby food applesauce, the fungicide Cyprodinil was the most frequently detected pesticide, present in 100 of the 710 samples. The highest level of any pesticide detected was, again, Pyrimethanil, with one sample testing at 3.0 ppm versus the EPA tolerance of 15 ppm. Said another way, the ‘worst’ sample of baby food apple sauce tested contained residues at only 20 percent of the EPA tolerance.

No pesticides were detected in baby food applesauce for which EPA has not established a tolerance.

The full PDP report is available here.
The searchable PDP database is available here.

For additional information contact:
Chris Gerlach
Vice President, Insights & Analytics
cgerlach@usapple.org