The Pesticide Clean & Dirty List
June 19, 2010 by GiGi
Welcome back!
I can’t believe it’s been TWO YEARS since I’ve talked about pesticides in our fruits and vegetables — so it’s definitely time for an update.
The good news is that during that time, organic fruits and vegetables have become much more available and cheaper – although still not cheap.
The Environmental Working Group has recently come out with a study where they named “The Dirty Dozen” – 12 fruits and vegetables that are likely to have the highest residue of pesticides on them. This is AFTER they were washed and scrubbed – you can’t wash this stuff off! You CAN reduce the amount of pesticides by buying organic versions of these common fruits and vegetables:
The Dirty Dozen
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce
Obviously, no one wants to knowingly ingest pesticides but pregnant women and families with small children should be especially wary, since pesticides have been linked to birth defects and ADHD diagnosis in children.
On the plus side, the EWG also posted the Clean 15 – fruits and vegetables that are not as affected by pesticides and are relatively safe to buy without going organic. It is usually because they are thicker skinned.
The Clean 15
Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions
I’m not sure why bananas aren’t on that Clean List because I always thought they were relatively safe.
It also doesn’t make sense why cabbage is on the Clean List yet lettuce is on the Dirty List.
Or why sweet potatoes are Clean but regular potatoes are not.
Or why Imported grapes are Dirty – where does that leave domestic grapes?
Or why Domestic blueberries are Dirty – where does that leave imported blueberries?
Okay, I guess I’ll stop picking apart the list. Suffice it to say, when in doubt, buy organic.
Disclaimer: Some of the links mentioned within this post or posts it may lead to are my affiliate links and in such case I will get compensated for recommending those products.
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