The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

EWG's 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides.

1. Strawberries

2. Spinach

3. Kale, collard & mustard greens

4. Peaches

5. Pears

6. Nectarines

7. Apples

8. Grapes

9. Bell & hot Peppers

10. Cherries

11. Blueberries

12. Green Beans

Tested for, but not on either list

These 19 items were included in the fruit and vegetable testing data from the USDA and FDA but do not fall into either the Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen lists.

13. Tomatoes

14. Winter squash

15. Celery

16. Potatoes

17. Cherry Tomatoes

18. Lettuce

19. Tangerines

20. Cucumbers

21. Broccoli

22. Summer squash*

23. Plums

24. Eggplant

25. Raspberries

26. Grapefruit

27. Snap Peas

28. Oranges

29. Cantaloupe

30. Bananas

31. Cauliflower

Clean 15

These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of the most recent USDA data.

32. Carrots

33. Watermelon

34. Sweet Potatoes

35. Mangoes

36. Mushrooms

37. Cabbage

38. Kiwi

39. Honeydew melon

40. Asparagus

41. Sweet peas (frozen)

42. Papaya*

43. Onions

44. Pineapple

45. Sweet corn*

46. Avocados

EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Nearly 75 percent of non-organic fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful pesticides, EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce finds. In this year’s guide, blueberries and green beans join our Dirty Dozen list of the 12 fruits and vegetables sampled that have the highest traces of pesticides.

Any exposure to pesticides is a problem, given what we know about several ways they can harm humans. But the findings are particularly concerning for children, who are particularly vulnerable to many of the health harms associated with pesticide exposure.

The Shopper’s Guide represents EWG’s analysis of the latest fruit and vegetable testing data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The 2023 guide includes data from 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. The USDA peels or scrubs and washes produce samples before testing, whereas the FDA only removes dirt before testing its samples. Even after these steps, the tests still find traces 251 different pesticides.

The guide includes our Dirty Dozen as well as our Clean Fifteen, which shows which fruits and vegetables tested have very low or no traces of pesticides.

Some of the USDA’s tests show traces of pesticides long since banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. Much stricter federal regulation and oversight of these chemicals is needed.

Consumption of fruit and vegetables, organic or not, is critical to a healthy diet and good health. But for shoppers concerned about dietary pesticide exposure, EWG’s Shopper’s Guide, released every year since 2004, provides information about the fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide residues, so consumers can make the best decisions for their families.

PESTICIDES – KNOWN TO CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS

For this year’s guide, the overall picture remains problematic: Too many pesticides are still found in too high quantities on too much of the produce millions of Americans eat every day.

Many peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown disturbing links between pesticides and human health issues. These findings raise important questions about the safety of pesticide mixtures found on produce.

Research from Harvard University shows that consuming fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residues may lessen the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, including protection against cardiovascular disease and mortality.

A recent EWG investigation published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health found that the EPA has failed to adequately protect children from pesticides. For almost 90 percent of the most common pesticides, the agency has neglected to apply the Food Quality Protection Act–mandated children’s health safety factor to the allowable limits.

The threats pesticides pose to children’s health have been known since at least 1993 – 30 years ago – when the National Academies of Science published a landmark study warning of inadequate oversight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents concerned about their children’s exposure to pesticides consult EWG’s Shopper’s Guide.

Choosing organic fruits and vegetables can almost immediately reduce the amounts of residues in a person’s body, because the harmful chemicals used on non-organic, or conventional, produce are no longer a factor.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE 2023 SHOPPER’S GUIDE

Blueberries and green beans are on the Dirty Dozen this year. Both crops still have troubling concentrations of pesticides that can harm the human nervous system, called organophosphate insecticides, though the levels have decreased over the past decade.

Several green bean samples had residues of acephate, a toxic pesticide, which the EPA banned more than 10 years ago from use on green beans grown for food.

Also this year, cantaloupe was removed from the Clean Fifteen, and carrots were added.

By Environmental Working Group Science Team     MARCH 15, 2023

source: www.ewg.org