Dirty Dozen: These fruits, vegetables have the most pesticides
The annual list of the 'dirtiest' items in the produce aisle ranks the items you might want to avoid
The annual list of the 'dirtiest' items in the produce aisle ranks the items you might want to avoid
The annual list of the 'dirtiest' items in the produce aisle ranks the items you might want to avoid
Government testing found that nearly 70 percent of sampled produce was contaminated with pesticide residue, according to a new report.
Every year, the Environmental Working Group looks at the results of U.S. Department of Agriculture testing and ranks the "dirtiest" and "cleanest" items in the produce aisle.
"The USDA found a total of 178 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on the thousands of produce samples it analyzed," EWG said. "The pesticides persisted on fruits and vegetables even when they were washed and, in some cases, peeled."
EWG's "Dirty Dozen" list for 2017:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Peaches
- Celery
- Grapes
- Pears
- Cherries
- Tomatoes
- Sweet bell peppers
- Potatoes
At least one pesticide was found on 98 percent of the tested strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples.
"Clean Fifteen" list for 2017:
- Sweet corn
- Avocados
- Pineapples
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Frozen sweet peas
- Papayas
- Asparagus
- Mangoes
- Eggplant
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwis
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
- Grapefruit