Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15

Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15

Each year, EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce ranks pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables based on results of more than 35,000 samples tested by the USDA and FDA.

The foods with the least pesticide contamination are called the Clean 15, while the 12 with the most pesticides are called the Dirty Dozen. 

The results are quite surprising to me!  Happy to see the avocado on the clean list but as much as I scrub my potato, I was surprised I needed to choose organic there.  

The group identified the following items on its “Dirty Dozen” list of produce with the most pesticide residue:
  1. Strawberries
  2. Spinach
  3. Nectarines
  4. Apples
  5. Peaches
  6. Celery
  7. Grapes
  8. Pears
  9. Cherries
  10. Tomatoes
  11. Sweet bell peppers
  12. Potatoes
The group also identifies the “Clean 15” or items in the report with the least likelihood to contain pesticide residue:
  1. Sweet corn
  2. Avocados
  3. Pineapples
  4. Cabbage
  5. Onions
  6. Frozen sweet peas
  7. Papayas
  8. Asparagus
  9. Mangoes
  10. Eggplant
  11. Honeydew
  12. Kiwifruit
  13. Cantaloupe
  14. Cauliflower
  15. Grapefruit
 
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