I recently took KK to the doctors office for an ear infection. While I was there I saw a startling article on pestisides and residue. Up until this point I had bought some of our food organic, milk, bananas, raisins, and some snack foods. I was surprised to find out that washing the fruit didn't take the pestiside away. After reading this article it made me completely change my mind on what foods are important to buy organic:
Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible.
Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already considers how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, apples are washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
How This Guide Was Developed
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested (see below).
EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food. For more information please visit http://www.ewg.org/.
The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
RANK
FRUIT OR VEGGIE
SCORE
1. (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2. Apples 96%
3. Sweet Bell Peppers 86%
4. Celery 85%
5. Nectarines 84%
6. Strawberries 83%
7. Cherries 75%
8. Lettuce 69%
9. Grapes - Imported 68%
10. Pears 65%
11. Spinach 60%
12. Potatoes 58%
13. Carrots 57%
14. Green Beans 55%
15. Hot Peppers 53%
16. Cucumbers 52%
17. Raspberries 47%
18. Plums 46%
19. Oranges 46%
20. Grapes-Domestic 46%
21. Cauliflower 39%
22. Tangerine 38%
23. Mushrooms 37%
24. Cantaloupe 34%
25. Lemon 31%
26. Honeydew Melon 31%
27. Grapefruit 31%
28. Winter Squash 31%
29. Tomatoes 30%
30. Sweet Potatoes 30%
31. Watermelon 25%
32. Blueberries 24%
33. Papaya 21%
34. Eggplant 19%
35. Broccoli 18%
36. Cabbage 17%
37. Bananas 16%
38. Kiwi 14%
39. Asparagus 11%
40. Sweet Peas-Frozen 11%
41. Mango 9%
42. Pineapples 7%
43. Sweet Corn-Frozen 2%
44. Avocado 1%
45. (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)
Note: We ranked a total of 44 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.
View Full Data Set Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce by Environmental Working Group is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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