Some foods and produce are so thoroughly saturated in chemicals and pesticides they should be labeled HAZARDOUS by the U.S. Surgeon General!
Due to the TONS of pesticides being used on crops annually, it is important to know what produce is the most polluted and what produce is not "as" polluted.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases lists every year of the most and least contaminated produce to help consumers make informed choices. A total of about 50 fruits and vegetables are tested and ranked by the total number of pesticides detected on the crop and the percentage of samples tested with detectable pesticides. According to the Environmental Working Group EWG's 2016 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
This year's update of EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ reports that USDA tests found a total 146 different pesticides on thousands of fruit and vegetable samples examined in 2014. The pesticides persisted on fruits and vegetables tested by USDA - even when they were washed and, in some cases, peeled.
The EWG "Dirty Dozen" & "The Clean Fifteen"
Due to the high cost of organic produce, it is important for families to make informed decisions when purchasing organic foods. Which fruits and vegetables are absolutely "necessary" to buy organic, and which ones are relatively safe to purchase from conventional farming methods.
The EWG has coined the phrase "The Dirty Dozen Plus" to indicate which fruits and vegetables should be purchased organic only and "The Clean Fifteen" indicating "relatively" clean residues of pesticides found after washing.
LIST OF THE "DIRTY" TO BUY ORGANIC ONLY:
1. Apples
2. Peaches
3. Nectarines
4. Strawberries
5. Grapes
6. Celery
7. Spinach
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry tomatoes
11. Snap peas - imported
12. Potatoes
13. Hot & Sweet peppers
14. Kale / Collard greens
List of the "Clean" - Showing Relatively Low Residue of Pesticides
1. Avocado
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbage
5. Sweet peas (frozen)
6. Onions
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Grapefruit
13. Cantaloupe
14. Cauliflower
15. Sweet potatoes
A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from GE (genetically modified) seed stock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid GE produce.
Information for this article comes from the Environmental Working Group - for the Full List of all fifty products tested check it out (here).
For a downloadable PDF file of the entire EWG SHOPPING GUIDE go (here)
Due to the TONS of pesticides being used on crops annually, it is important to know what produce is the most polluted and what produce is not "as" polluted.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases lists every year of the most and least contaminated produce to help consumers make informed choices. A total of about 50 fruits and vegetables are tested and ranked by the total number of pesticides detected on the crop and the percentage of samples tested with detectable pesticides. According to the Environmental Working Group EWG's 2016 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
This year's update of EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ reports that USDA tests found a total 146 different pesticides on thousands of fruit and vegetable samples examined in 2014. The pesticides persisted on fruits and vegetables tested by USDA - even when they were washed and, in some cases, peeled.
The EWG "Dirty Dozen" & "The Clean Fifteen"
Due to the high cost of organic produce, it is important for families to make informed decisions when purchasing organic foods. Which fruits and vegetables are absolutely "necessary" to buy organic, and which ones are relatively safe to purchase from conventional farming methods.
The EWG has coined the phrase "The Dirty Dozen Plus" to indicate which fruits and vegetables should be purchased organic only and "The Clean Fifteen" indicating "relatively" clean residues of pesticides found after washing.
LIST OF THE "DIRTY" TO BUY ORGANIC ONLY:
1. Apples
2. Peaches
3. Nectarines
4. Strawberries
5. Grapes
6. Celery
7. Spinach
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry tomatoes
11. Snap peas - imported
12. Potatoes
13. Hot & Sweet peppers
14. Kale / Collard greens
List of the "Clean" - Showing Relatively Low Residue of Pesticides
1. Avocado
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbage
5. Sweet peas (frozen)
6. Onions
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Grapefruit
13. Cantaloupe
14. Cauliflower
15. Sweet potatoes
A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from GE (genetically modified) seed stock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid GE produce.
Information for this article comes from the Environmental Working Group - for the Full List of all fifty products tested check it out (here).
For a downloadable PDF file of the entire EWG SHOPPING GUIDE go (here)