During a 5 year period from 1982 to 1986, the FDA Los Angeles District Laboratory analyzed 19 851 samples of domestic and imported food and feed commodities for pesticide residues. A single, rapid, multiresidue method was used. The resultant data have been compiled showing the commodities sampled and the identity and range of levels of pesticide residues detected, including an indication of those residue findings that did not comply with U.S. federal tolerance levels. The residue data presented should not be viewed as being representative of the U.S. food supply; rather, the results are indicative of a surveillance- and compliance-oriented sampling of various food shipments collected by the Los Angeles District.