2012 most toxic produce // dirty dozen & clean 15

Every year the EWG (Environmental Working Group) puts out a list of the 12 foods with the highest pesticide count detected in or on the produce called the Dirty Dozen. These lists are great because they give you the foods you most definitely should not compromise on buying organic, while also giving you a peaceful mind about buying some conventional produce if needed. The 12 are the dirtiest in terms of pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, and insecticides that are toxic to the nervous system - in order of most dangerous, and tested after being washed or peeled by the US Department of Agriculture and FDA. Apples have been notorious for topping the list for a few years running, and they've done it once again.

Dirty Dozen

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Nectarines – Imported
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Blueberries
12. Potatoes

*This year, they added an extra category for Kale/Greens and Green Beans.

I find it quite interesting that blueberries are below produce with thick skins such as Bell Peppers and Cucumber, because I've been told in the past that the most dangerous foods to consume non-organically are the ones without a skin just like blueberries, because they absorb most of the chemicals instead of simply being able to be washed off. But then again, the Dirty Dozen are tested and scored on the immediate chemical traces found on the surface of the produce, not on the inside. So keep that in mind!

Clean 15

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Domestic Cantaloupe
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms

The whole EWG report is very informative and useful for curious produce shoppers. Some extra information in the report worth mentioning includes a statistic that:

• 98% of conventional apples have detectable levels of pesticides. (Not a surprise why they top the list, eh?)
• Domestic blueberries tested positive for 42 different pesticide residues, possibly because of the aforementioned reason of absorption.
• Every single nectarine the USDA tested had measurable amounts of residue from pesticides.
• As a whole, grapes have the most pesticide traces than any other fruit, totaling around 64 different chemicals.
• 13 different pesticides were found on a single sample of celery and strawberries.

See the Shopper's Guide to Pesticide's in Produce.

Sources: treehugger.com, ewg.org, Photo: gardentreeslandscape.com