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News Coverage

Peaches, Apples Have Highest Pesticide Loads in Group's Rankings

Oregonian, Scott Learn
Published October 2, 2008

Harvest season for apples and pears is about to hit full swing in the Northwest. Rankings by the Environmental Working Group, which tracks pesticide loads in fruits and vegetables, suggest that you might want to go organic. The group's guide to pesticides in produce lists conventional apples as having the second-highest pesticide load among 44 fruits and vegetables evaluated. Apples were behind only peaches, while pears came in 10th highest. The rankings reflect an Environmental Working Group analysis of about 51,000 tests for pesticides on the foods in 2000 and 2005 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Just under 94 percent of conventional apples tested had detectable pesticides, at an average of 0.89 parts per million. About 86 percent of pears contained pesticides, at 0.59 parts per million on average. Among the foods with the lowest pesticide loads: onions, avocados, pineapples, mangos, asparagus and bananas.
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