Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a shopper's guide to pesticides in produce. The clean fifteen are those foods with the lowest pesticide residue and the dirty dozen the highest.
When enjoying foods from the dirty list, buy organic when possible and always be sure to wash your produce. I use Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak.
I picked up these gorgeous organic strawberries (you'll notice they are #1 on the dirty dozen list below) from Costco yesterday. I gave them a quick bath and cleaned them up — all ready for snacking on this week!!!
Nearly 70% of the produce sold in the U.S. comes with pesticide residues. Pesticides in produce have been found in research to contribute to both cancer and infertility. Recent studies evaluating the impact of an organic diet found that after only six days of eating organic food, adults and children had on average a 60% reduction in the levels of synthetic pesticides measured in their urine, compared to when they were eating a conventional diet. — Environmental Working Group
EWG's 2019 Shopper's Guide to Pesticide in Produce
Dirty Dozen
Each of these foods tested positive for a number of different pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce. To decrease pesticides, buy organic when possible and always give them a bath in your fruit and veggie soak.
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes
Clean Fifteen
Relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations of pesticide residues. You can save on your grocery budget on these foods and buy conventional. You'll still want to give them a bath in your fruit and veggie soak.
1. Avocados
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Sweet Frozen Peas
5. Onions
6. Papayas
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Kiwis
10. Cabbage
11. Cauliflower
12. Cantaloupes
13. Broccoli
14. Mushrooms
15. Honeydew Melon
Keep in mind, research agrees on the health benefits of a diet that includes fruits and vegetables, and eating fresh produce – organic or conventional, as budget allows – is good for your health.
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