the dirty dozen

Use this list when deciding whether to buy organic.

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By Lisset Lanza

Every year, the Environmental Working Group releases an updated guide to purchasing produce. It ranks the fruits and veggies found with the most amount of pesticides in order of contamination, urging shoppers to consider buying organic when possible for the items on this list. The produce is washed and peeled when applicable, before being tested to determine which contain the highest concentrations of healthharming chemicals.

Spinach

These leafy greens contained substantially high amounts of permethrin, an antiparasite chemical. A total of 97 percent of spinach samples tested contained residual pesticides. This large number, along with the presence of the neurotoxic insecticide found on the vegetables, explains why spinach holds the second-place spot on the list.

Nectarines

Almost 94 percent of all nectarine samples tested contained at least two pesticides. In one particular sample, the fruits contained the residues of 15 identifiable pesticides.

Apples

Apples’ nutritional properties and sweet taste make it a supermarket staple. Unfortunately, 90 percent of apples contained residual pesticides, 80 percent of which contained a pesticide known as diphenylamine (DPA). The chemical, which is banned in Europe for health and safety reasons, can still be found in the United States. In order to protect and preserve apples after harvesting, DPA is used in addition to a waxy coating as the fruit is put in storage.

Grapes

Cherries

On cherry samples tested, an average of five pesticides were found, with 30 percent of cherry samples containing a chemical called iprodione. Although it’s still used in the United State, that chemical is no longer allowed in Europe.

Pears

Over half of conventionally grown pears contained five or more pesticide residues, several of which were in high concentrations. Among these pesticides were fungicides and insecticides.

Tomatoes

One tomato sample showed evidence of 15 total pesticides and breakdown products. The average conventionally grown tomato tested positive for four pesticides.

Celery

A little over 95 percent of conventional celery contained pesticides, with one sample study finding 13 pesticides on the vegetable.

Potatoes

By weight, potatoes beat out every other crop’s residual pesticides. Making up the bulk of potatoes’ pesticides is chlorpropham, an herbicide used to control weeds.

Sweet Bell Peppers

Although sweet bell peppers tend to show fewer pesticide residues than any other food on the Dirty Dozen list, the pesticides found can be more toxic to human health. Pesticide residue was found on nearly 90 percent of sweet bell pepper samples.

Strawberries

Coming in at No. 1, strawberries are 2018’s dirtiest produce. Testing found that one-third of the total number of samples contained more than 10 pesticides left on the berries. On one batch of strawberries, 22 pesticide residues were recorded. The chemical agents left behind even after washing have shown the astounding amount of pesticide treatments strawberries receive.

Over 96 percent of grapes contained pesticide residues, with an average of five pesticides found on grapes.

Peaches

Juicy and fragrant, peaches’ signature soft and fuzzy outer layer may be the reason why more than 99 percent of the fruits’ samples contained pesticides. Conventional peaches that were tested contained an average of four detectable pesticide residues.