Knowing what kinds of organic produce to buy can be really tricky. There’s so much jargon to think about, you don’t know who to trust, and frankly things are so expensive. Do not say more! The Environmental Working Group recently released their 2017 “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists, outlining which fruits and vegetables you should buy organic and which ones are clean enough to pass up. It’s safe to say that your fruit salads and smoothies will never be the same again. For information on where to spend and where to save on your products, read on.
Fruits
Each of the fruits you’ll find on the dirty list tested positive for a multitude of different pesticides and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than those on the clean or middle list. More than 98 percent of the strawberry, peach, nectarine, cherry and apple samples tested positive for at least one pesticide, and a single strawberry sample showed 20 different pesticides. Oh! Strawberries are consistently part of the Dirty Dozen, but new to this year’s list are pears, which saw an increase of nine pesticides, bringing their total to 20. The good news is that you will find plenty of their favorites on the clean list.
Dirty fruits: Strawberries, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries and grapes.
Clean fruits: Grapefruit, papaya, avocado, pineapple, mango, molasses, kiwi and melon.
Vegetables
You might be happy to know that cherry tomatoes and cucumbers were dropped from last year’s list, but unfortunately, beloved potato replaced them in the Dirty Dozen. As usual, the spinach samples showed twice the pesticide residues by weight than any other crop. If you choose only one vegetable to buy organic, make it spinach; Your green smoothie will thank you. But don’t be too Sad, more than 80 percent of the asparagus, onions, and cabbage had no pesticide residue. So eat!
Dirty vegetables: Tomatoes, spinach, celery, peppers, and potatoes.
Clean vegetables: Asparagus, eggplant, cauliflower, peas, onions, cabbage, and corn.
Click HERE to download EWG’s Pesticides in Agricultural Products Buyer’s Guide.
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