The ‘Dirty Dozen’: Which fruits and vegetables have the most pesticides?
The Environmental Working Group has released an updated list of the Dirty Dozen, the fruits and vegetables with the worst pesticide levels. Drumroll please:
- Apples
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Nectarines (imported)
- Grapes (imported)
- Sweet bell peppers
- Potatoes
- Blueberries (domestic)
- Lettuce
- Kale/collard greens
If you can, it's worth shelling out a little extra for the organic versions of these. You can offset it by pinching your pennies on the Clean Fifteen, the produce with the lowest pesticide levels:
- Onions
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapples
- Avocado
- Asparagus
- Sweet peas
- Mangoes
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe (domestic)
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Watermelon
- Sweet potatoes
- Grapefruit
- Mushrooms
See:
-
EWG's 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce,
Environmental Working Group
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