PESTICIDE-RESIDUE METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION AT THE FOOD-AND-DRUG-ADMINISTRATION

The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) responsibility for monitoring the nation's food supply for pesticide residues is the driving force behind FDA's pesticide residue method development. Efficiency dictates that multiresidue methods, which can analyze simultaneously for many residues in a variety of agricultural products, be used in and developed for such monitoring. Methods that analyze for a single or small number of residues are employed on a limited basis when necessary. Overall method development activities are guided by a Five-Year Plan, which is updated annually to reflect accomplishments and new objectives. Method development activities focus on extension and expansion of existing methods to additional pesticides and crops. New analytical techniques are investigated for applicability to existing and new methods. Studies of the analytical behavior of pesticide chemicals in existing methods play an important role in method research. A computerized database tracks capabilities of FDA multiresidue methods and assists in guiding new method development. Before use in the monitoring program, all methods are validated in intralaboratory and interlaboratory studies to assure that they perform properly and provide reliable analytical information. Collaborative studies are conducted under the auspices of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists.