Dear Joyous Readers, The Environmental Working Group has just released the updated "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen™" for 2014. You can download the poster below or watch the video.
List of fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticides detected relative to other produce tested. They include:
Apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, sweet bell peppers, imported nectarines, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Of special note, according to EWG:
- Every sample of imported nectarines and 99 percent of apple samples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
- The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other food.
- A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides. Single samples of celery, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.
What is the Clean Fifteen™?
List of 15 fruits and vegetables that have the lowest level of detectable pesticides. They include:
Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.
Notable findings from EWG:
- Avocados were the cleanest: only 1 percent of avocado samples showed any detectable pesticides.
- Some 89 percent of pineapples, 82 percent of kiwi, 80 percent of papayas, 88 percent of mango and 61 percent of cantaloupe had no residues.
- No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen™ tested positive for more than 4 types of pesticides.
- Detecting multiple pesticide residues is extremely rare on Clean Fifteen™ vegetables. Only 5.5 percent of Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides.
Be sure to print off the poster below and keep it in your bag for when you are grocery shopping.
I encourage you to buy non-GMO foods as well. GMO foods are strictly prohibited in order for it to be certified organic or you can look for the "Non-GMO Project Verified" label on products as well. Learn from from EWG here.
Great info Joy. Way to go babes :)
ReplyThanks Lady! ;)
Great post, thanks for sharing Joy!
ReplyMy pleasure!
So is it better to not eat something if you can't buy it organic?
ReplyNo not at all. I recommend you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every single day. Do your best to eat organic for the dirty dozen when you can! You will find when produce is in season, especially at farmers markets the organic produce will be the same price if not cheaper than the conventional.
It says sweet corn on the Clean 15 but how do you know if it is GMO corn (if not organic)?
ReplyIf it's not organic, then it's impossible to know because in North America (as you probably know) GMO foods are not labelled as such.
What about broccoli?
ReplyBroccoli is neither the lowest or the highest in pesticides. I personally buy organic. It's up to you!
I feel blessed to live in an area (N. Calif.) that has one of the best yr. round farmer's markets in the world. Many Hmong farmers who grow in soil from a flood plain, full of minerals (grows like crazy). So fresh and so much better than the "certified organic" in the supermarkets (or health food stores) that has been sitting there for days or weeks, being sprayed with water so that it looks fresh. (They keep trimming all the dead leafy tops etc). The organic standards have been reduced so much now they are allowed to do and add so many things and still have it be called organic. And in all these dirty dozen charts there is never a mention (I know it is just produce) of meat and dairy. There is so much more concentrated pesticide residues (top of the food chain) that the amount in conventional produce is almost a non issue. I know people who are obsessed with not eating non organic fruit but think nothing of eating their (conventional) meat and dairy and never give that a second thought. It's always better to eat conventional produce than not eat it at all. Have a beautiful day! :)
ReplyHello! This poster doesn't download anymore - it just keeps redirecting back to the vanity URL. Help, please! I wanted to share it with my parents. Kathryn
ReplyHi Kathryn, thanks for letting us know! We will get it fixed. :)
Great printable, thanks! I will place it in my meal planner for when I go to the store :D
Reply