12 Most Pesticide-Laden Fruit and Vegetables: The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen, Updated
(NaturalSociety.com) Below is a list of the 12 most pesticide-laden fruit and vegetables, as well as the 15 cleanest fruit and vegetables. Things change rapidly in the agricultural world. What worked for producers of one vegetable last year may not work this year, or the popularity of certain pesticides may wane. Because of this, our knowledge about which crops are most heavily contaminated should similarly change with the times. Staying abreast of what’s being used on your produce will help you make the best decisions when purchasing safe fruits and vegetables for your home.
The “Dirty Dozen” is a group of foods designated by the Environmental Working Group as those that have the highest pesticide exposure. This year, they’ve added a few that may not make the criteria for the Dirty Dozen, but are important to be conscious of nonetheless. These are foods you want to buy organic whenever possible. When conventionally grown is your only choice, make sure you are thoroughly washing the produce if you can’t find cleaner substitutes.
“Dirty Dozen Plus”
- Apples
- Celery
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Grapes
- Hot peppers
- Nectarines (imported)
- Peaches
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Sweet bell peppers
- Kale/collard greens
- Summer squash
The “Clean Fifteen”, on the other hand, are those foods that receive the least amount of pesticide exposure. If you can’t buy all organic, these are the ones the EWG suggests are okay to buy conventionally grown. However, if you look closely, you’ll see several of these are known to usually be genetically modified. While this could be why they don’t need as many pesticides, it also could mean they present other health risks.
Read: 5 Foods to Always Buy Organic
“Clean Fifteen”
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Cabbage
- Cantaloupe
- Sweet Corn
- Eggplant
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Papayas
- Pineapples
- Sweet Peas
- Sweet Potatoes
When it comes to buying produce, you need to know what you’re getting. Better than buying from a grocery store, where the vegetables and fruit have traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles to reach you, is buying from local farmers. Then you can speak with them about their pesticide use and even whether they use genetically modified seeds.
Additional Sources:
since every day more and more of our foods are GMO’s
Almost all food is now bad for us. For those who want to eat Organic try to figure out if the plants you eat aren’t from mutagenic stock. GMO’s brother that is allowed to be sold or undisclosed as mutagenic.
i have my own garden, but i am very worried about what is being sprayed. lots of CHEMTRAILS in my area.
Frankly I think several of those are on the wrong lists. I’m a market gardener and wouldn’t put Asparagus on the clean list, no way. My family grew asparagus for Stokley and it was regularly sprayed for insects. Several things on the dirty list tho shouldn’t need much if anything other than BT.
LOTS of chem-trails here in Santa Monica, California too!!! Visitors from all over the world pay attention to the advertising and not to the fact that they have added FLORIDE to our water…2 crisscrossing, serious, earthquake faults that never make the news, for fear it would keep tourists away. PS…SM IS a rip-off city anyway…the highest priced in the nation…because they can!!! Tourists should really STAY away…far away!!!
…yes…make sure you and your friends vote on labeling them the next time it goes around!!!
False. Ask Hawaii about GMO papayas about being in the “Clean 15.”