The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released their 2023 shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce, which includes the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 food lists. What are they?
The Dirty Dozen are the fruits and vegetables that were found to have the most residues from pesticides this year.
The Clean Fifteen are the vegetables and fruit that had the least amount of detectable residues of pesticides. Almost 70% of the samples had no detectable residues of pesticides.
According to the EWG, “The best way to minimize your exposure to toxic pesticides is to wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly in cold water, eat a varied diet, and buy organic produce whenever possible”. They recommend buying the fruits and vegetables your family eats the most often as organic, focus on the clean 15, and when possible buy organic options for any of the foods on the dirty dozen to reduce pesticide exposure.
The Dirty Dozen:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale and collard mustard greens
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bell and Hot Peppers
- Cherries
- Blueberries
- Green Beans
The Clean Fifteen :
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Asparagus
- Honey Dew
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Mushrooms
- Mangoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Watermelon
- Carrots
