UNITED STATES, April 10, 2018 (CNN): Once again, strawberries top the list of the 12 “dirtiest” fruits and vegetables, according to the Environmental Working Group. Every year since 2004, the group — a nonprofit, nonpartisan environmental organization — ranked pesticide contamination in 47 popular fruits and vegetables for its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Pesticides include a wide array of chemicals that kill unwanted insects, plants, molds and rodents. Spinach is the second dirtiest item on the “Dirty Dozen” list, followed by (in order of contamination) nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers (hot peppers is the 13th suspect). Each of these foods tested positive for pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce. In fact, nearly 70% of conventionally grown — non-organic — produce samples were contaminated, the tests indicated.
The shopper’s guide is based on results of tests by the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on more than 38,800 non-organic samples. The Environmental Working Group looks at six measures of contamination including the average number of pesticides found on samples and the average amount of pesticides found. When testing samples, the USDA personnel wash or peel produce to mimic consumer practices. On a positive note, the Environmental Working Group also creates a lesser-known companion to the Dirty Dozen: the “Clean 15” guide to produce containing the least amount of pesticides. Avocados lead 2018’s clean fruit and veggies list, followed by sweet corn, pineapple, cabbage, onions, frozen sweet peas, papaya, asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, honeydew melon, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower, and broccoli. The organization cautions that a small portion of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the US is produced from genetically modified seeds. It says anyone wanting to avoid genetically modified produce should buy organic varieties of these crops.
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