Updated MOU between USDA, HHS, and EPA Addresses Drug Residues, Pesticide Residues, and Chemical Contaminants in Food

On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Signatory Agencies) announced an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to “reaffirm their shared commitment to protecting consumers from heavy metals and other contaminants in food.” USDA’s July 10, 2026, press release notes that for decades, USDA, HHS, and EPA have coordinated through the National Residue Program to monitor and regulate meat, poultry, and egg products. The updated MOU states that its purpose is “to promote effective, efficient, and coordinated Federal activities concerning drug residues, pesticide residues, and chemical contaminants (collectively, ‘chemical residues and contaminants’) that have the potential to adulterate meat, poultry, or egg products.” (Citations omitted.)

The MOU is applicable to all interagency activities concerning chemical residues and contaminants that are related to meat, poultry, and egg products under USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) jurisdiction, food-producing animals while under FSIS or FDA jurisdiction, and food for food-producing animals. For purposes of the MOU, “food-producing animals” are limited to animal species that are amenable under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), as well as animals subject to voluntary inspection by FSIS. The MOU states that this includes, but is not limited to, the following activities.

Sampling, Analytical Testing, and Method Development

• The Signatory Agencies agree to collaborate regarding the planning and execution of testing programs for chemical residues and contaminants in meat, poultry, and egg products.

• FSIS agrees to provide FDA with weekly residue reports. In addition, FSIS agrees to keep FDA and EPA informed of all FSIS sampling and testing programs for chemical residues and contaminants and to provide periodic reports of sampling plans and testing results. FDA and EPA agree to provide input and recommendations to FSIS on sampling frequency, production classes sampled, and chemical compounds tested on an annual basis, at a minimum.

• FDA and EPA agree to share information with each other and FSIS obtained from any other sampling or monitoring program for chemical residues and contaminants that may be relevant to activities under the MOU.

• The Signatory Agencies agree to collaborate with each other, as appropriate, and with other federal agencies, in the development of analytical methods for chemical residues and contaminants in food, and in the acquisition and analysis of samples for special projects that fall within the National Residue Program.

Tolerances, Action Levels, and Screening Levels

• FDA and EPA agree to notify FSIS whenever FDA or EPA establishes or amends a tolerance, an exemption from a tolerance, an action level, or a safe level for a drug, pesticide, or chemical contaminant that may relate to FSIS’ responsibilities under the FMIA, PPIA, or Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA).

• The Signatory Agencies agree to coordinate and, if appropriate, collaborate in the development of action levels or screening levels for chemical residues and contaminants in meat, poultry, and egg products.

Regulatory Actions

• The Signatory Agencies agree to notify each other of any information related to the actual, suspected, or anticipated presence of chemical residues and contaminants in meat, poultry, egg products, or food-producing animals that may constitute or could result in a violation of the FMIA, PPIA, EPIA, or Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

• When requested and appropriate, the Signatory Agencies agree to assist one another in making regulatory decisions related to chemical residues and contaminants in meat, poultry, and egg products by sharing information, expertise, and analytical methodologies. The Signatory Agencies further agree to assist each other, when requested and appropriate, to conduct safety assessments, health hazard evaluations, or other evaluations of a chemical’s toxicity or exposure aimed at determining whether meat, poultry, egg products, or food-producing animals have been adulterated.

• FDA agrees to review reports from FSIS or EPA of food potentially adulterated by the presence of any chemical residues and contaminants, and if deemed appropriate by FDA, to investigate the circumstances that may have caused the associated food-producing animals to be exposed prior to slaughter. When appropriate, FDA agrees to notify FSIS and EPA of the results of any review or investigation.

• EPA agrees to review reports from FSIS or FDA of pesticide misuse or other possible violations of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or FFDCA, and if deemed appropriate by EPA, to investigate the matter or to refer the matter for investigation to the appropriate state enforcement authority. When appropriate, EPA agrees to notify FSIS and FDA of the results of any review or investigation.

Commentary

This updates the National Residue Program, outlined in a 1984 MOU, to coordinate tri-agency residue monitoring. Updating the monitoring of heavy metals would respond to concerns that have been expressed regarding potential risks to consumers, especially children, as part of the Administration’s larger efforts under its “Make America Heathy Again (MAHA)” initiative. Reports of arsenic found in rice cereals consumed by infants have received widespread press coverage since Consumer Reports sampled rice cereals in 2012. Since that time, advocates have sought improved testing and reporting on possible risks from heavy metals in the food supply.

The Administration first released its “Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment” in May 2025 followed by a “MAHA Strategy” in August 2025, announcing initiatives to reduce risks from contaminants in the food supply, “ultra-processed” foods, and changes in lifestyle, among other factors affecting children’s health. See our June 2, 2025, blog item, June 11, 2025, blog item, and September 15, 2025, blog item. The MAHA Assessment and Strategy cover a range of concerns far beyond possible exposure to heavy metals, and the Administration has continued to respond to concerns of the MAHA movement across cabinet departments.

The revised MOU updates the sampling methodology and coordination among the agencies’ food safety sampling and enforcement programs as part of the 2025 MAHA Strategy. It would improve the routine sharing of information about sampling results and updated regulatory requirements from the three agencies. In the immediate future, weekly reports distributed across programs will be part of improved coordination and data sharing; over time, the need for weekly sharing may be reevaluated to determine whether some other periodic reporting (such as monthly) might prove to be equally effective. As an update to routines established decades ago, the effectiveness of these changes can be expected to be reviewed as they evolve.

Meanwhile, more frequent reporting may result in public alarm about monitoring results. The difficulty of explaining the meaning of the results by regulatory agencies and food producers — even if well within regulatory standards or guidelines — may become more complex as results are released. Consumers who “discover” what may have been in their food for decades may be less accepting of regulatory officials’ assurance of safety when any level of residues is reported. Explaining that “3,000 ppb” found in a food complies with a standard of “30 ppm” as “ten times below the regulatory allowance” will present what might be described dryly as “communication difficulties.”