Last week the Environmental Working Group released its 2021 lists for the non-organic fresh produce with the most and the least amount of pesticides. I’m not surprised to see the the Dirty Dozen contains the most commonly eaten fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, peaches and apples, with strawberries leading the pack with the highest amount of pesticides. The Clean Fifteen includes pineapple, eggplant, mushrooms and cauliflower, with avocado as the least likely to have pesticides.
Key findings are:
More than 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines, and leafy greens tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides.
A single sample of kale, collard and mustard greens had up to 20 different pesticides.
On average, spinach samples had 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight as any other crop tested.
Hot peppers and bell peppers had the most pesticides detected, 115 pesticides in total and 21 more pesticides than the crops with the second highest amount – kale, collard and mustard greens.
I might be looking for organic options for some of these Dirty Dozen. I’m also looking forward to my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box starting again in May. Fresh produce from local farms is the best.
What about you? Will this list change your food choices?