Southern Oregon Mail Tribune, Staff
Published September 21, 2006
What are the top 10 worst fruits and vegetables for retaining pesticide residue? It seems like I saw a recent list somewhere but now can't track it down.
-- John F., Medford
You may have seen the so-called "dirty dozen" list, released by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit, public watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. The group said it based the ranking on results of more than 100,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 1992 and 2001. The methodology is explained in more detail at
www.foodnews.org/reportcard.php, and a pocket shopping guide can be downloaded from the site.
So without further ado, here's your dirty dozen, in descending order: peaches, strawberries, apples, spinach, nectarines, celery, pears, cherries, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, raspberries and imported grapes.
The EWG also ranked the least-contaminated in descending order: sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cauliflower, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, onions, broccoli, bananas, kiwis and papayas.
These results were found with food that was washed and prepared for eating. Some pesticides become a part of the produce or cannot be washed off.
There is no scientific evidence that exposure to the pesticides in small amounts is harmful, but then it never hurts to be skeptical and cautious, so long as you maintain a healthy, varied diet. But EWG suggests that "adjusting your eating habits can lower your intake of pesticides - sometimes dramatically so. Substitute organic for conventional produce that is consistently contaminated with pesticides. When organic is not available, eat fruits and vegetables with consistently low pesticide loads." And always wash your fresh produce before preparing it.
