Department of Pesticide Regulation’s report is part of a pattern of downplaying their own science
SACRAMENTO, CA – Public health and environmental advocates are calling out the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for a misleading and self-congratulatory press release issued today about its 2023 pesticide residue sampling report—one that distorts key findings and downplays serious concerns.
The headline of DPR’s press release boasts of a “low amount of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables sold in the state.” In fact, 61% of all samples tested had detectable pesticide residues, including almost 12% of produce labeled as organic.
The press release veers from spin to flat-out falsehood in stating that “Of the 1,059 produce samples labeled as ‘grown in California,’ fewer than 1% had detectable pesticide residues or pesticide residues above U.S. EPA tolerances.” This is not true. DPR’s report actually shows just 40% of California samples with no residue. 60% of fruit and vegetable samples from California have detectable pesticide residues or pesticide residues above US EPA tolerances.
“DPR is not just sugarcoating the results—they’re rewriting them,” said Angel Garcia, co-director of the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform. “Their press release implies near-total safety, when in reality, most of the produce tested had pesticides on it. The public deserves transparency, not lies and spin.”
The department also fails to meaningfully acknowledge that legal residue limits are based on outdated federal tolerance levels, which do not always reflect current science on low-dose or cumulative exposure—especially for vulnerable populations like children and pregnant people.
“This kind of regulatory back-patting completely ignores the broader public health concern: we are regularly eating food with multiple pesticide residues, and we don’t fully understand the long-term effects,” said Garcia.
DPR has a track record of deliberate distortion of its own frequently alarming findings. Advocates took the Department to task in October for falsely stating that 95% of air monitoring samples had no detectable pesticides. In fact, pesticides were detected in 80% of the samples.
The report’s findings raise serious issues:
• 61% of all produce samples tested had detectable pesticide residues.
• Of the California-grown samples, 13 had illegal residues and 59.6% had detectable residues.
• Eating the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day amounts to an average of one serving with an illegal amount of pesticide residue on your plate every week (3% of 35 servings per week)
DPR’s efforts to paint this report as a reassurance to California consumers distract from the real concern: our food system remains deeply reliant on chemical-intensive farming practices, and regulatory agencies are more focused on maintaining the status quo than protecting public health.
Californians for Pesticide Reform is calling for more rigorous and transparent oversight, meaningful restrictions on the most dangerous pesticides, and a shift toward safer, sustainable farming systems.
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Californians for Pesticide Reform is a diverse, statewide coalition of over 210 member groups working to strengthen pesticide policies in California to protect public health and the environment. Member groups include public and children’s health advocates, clean air and water groups, health practitioners, environmental justice groups, labor, education, farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from across the state.