Dirty Dozen

Confused about organic vs non organic produce? 

The 8th edition of Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ was released recently with updated information on 45 popular fruits and vegetables and their total pesticide loads. EWG highlighted the worst offenders with its new Dirty Dozen Plus list and recognized the cleanest conventional produce with its list of the Clean Fifteen.

Dirty Dozen Plus (Buy these fruits and veggies Organic!)

apples

celery

sweet bell peppers

peaches

strawberries

nectarines, imported

grapes

spinach

lettuce

cucumbers

blueberries, domestic

potatoes

Plus

green beans+

kale/collard greens+

Clean Fifteen (these don’t need to be organic)

onions

sweet corn*

pineapples

avocado

cabbage

sweet peas

asparagus

mango

eggplant

kiwi

cantaloupe, domestic

sweet potatoes

grapefruit

watermelon

mushrooms

 +may contain highly toxic organophosphate pesticide residues

 *Commodity crop corn used for animal feed and biofuels is almost all produced with genetically modified (GMO) seeds, as is some sweet corn sold for human consumption. Since GMO sweet corn is not labeled as such in U.S. stores, EWG advises those who have concerns about GMOs to buy organic sweet corn.

 Learn more at www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/.