Environmental Working Group’s 2018 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Pesticide residues are common on conventionally grown produce, even after it is carefully washed or peeled. Nearly 70% of samples of conventionally grown produce are contaminated with pesticide residues, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

USDA tests found a total of 230 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on thousands of produce samples analyzed. The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce” lists the “Dirty Dozen” fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues and “Clean Fifteen” for which few, if any, residues were detected.

While vegetables and fruits are essential components of a healthy diet, research suggests that pesticides in produce may pose serious health risks.

The 2018 Dirty Dozen: Produce with the highest loads of pesticide residues

• strawberries
• spinach
• nectarines
• apples
• grapes
• peaches
• cherries
• pears
• tomatoes
• celery
• potatoes 
• sweet bell peppers +hot peppers

Each of these foods tested positive for many different pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce:

•More than 98% of samples of strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide.

•A single sample of strawberries showed 20 different pesticides.

•Spinach samples had, on average, 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.

EWG has expanded the Dirty Dozen list to highlight hot peppers, which do not meet our traditional ranking criteria but were found to be contaminated with insecticides toxic to the human nervous system.

EWG recommends that people who frequently eat hot peppers buy organic. If you cannot find or afford organic hot peppers, cook them, because pesticide levels typically diminish when food is cooked.

EWG’s Clean Fifteen: Produce least likely to contain pesticide residues

• avocados
• sweet corn*
• pineapples
• cabbages
• onions
• frozen sweet peas
• papayas*
• asparagus
• mangoes
• eggplants
• honeydew
• kiwis
• cantaloupes
• cauliflower
• broccoli

Relatively few pesticides and low total concentrations of pesticide residues were detected on these foods:

•Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest. Less than 1% of samples showed any detectable pesticides.

•More than 80% of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbages had no pesticide residues.

•No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen tested positive for more than four pesticides.

•Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 5% of Clean Fifteen vegetable samples had two or more pesticides.

• A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from Genetically Engineered (GE) seed stock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid Genetically Engineered produce.

Reference:

 Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2018 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. 

(ewg@ewg.org 04/10/18).