We have covered these studies in part before, but now the Environmental Working Group in the USA has produced a ‘dirty dozen’ list of fruits and vegetables which contain high levels of pesticide in the form in which they are eaten.
Apples, Celery, Strawberries, Peaches, Spinach, Nectarines, Grapes, Sweet bell peppers, Potatoes, Blueberries, Lettuce, Kale/collard greens.
By comparison the following are the clean 15.
Onions, Sweet corn, Pineapples, Avocado, Asparagus, Sweet peas, Mangoes, Aubergine, Cantaloupe Melon, Kiwi, Cabbage, Watermelon, Sweet potatoes, Grapefruit, Mushrooms.Grapefruit, Mushrooms.
Obviously, then, the thing to do is to go organic if you want to eat fruit and vegetables from the first list.
And consuming foods from the clean 15 will lower your pesticide exposure a whopping 92% when compared with the dirty dozen. By choosing five fruits and vegetables a day from the clean 15 list you’ll consume fewer than two pesticides per day, whereas consuming five fruits and vegetables a day from the dirty dozen will cause you to ingest as many as 14 different pesticides every day. The issue comes down to the variety of pesticide used, the volume used and the retention of the vegetable or fruit. Sadly some bright coloured vegetables and fruits seem to retain more pesticide.
The information is based on an analysis of 51,000 tests for pesticides conducted from 2001-2009 by the USDA and the FDA on 53 popular fruits and vegetables.
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