If you’re watchful of the promises of organic produce, maybe you should at the very least start nosh organic strawberries, recent research suggests.
For the third straight year, strawberries top the Environmental Magnum opus Group’s Dirty Dozen list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide leftovers. But others view the report with skepticism.
About a third of all strawberry representatives had at least 10 pesticides, the study found. One sample, had an “astounding” 22 pesticide remains, notes the EWG, a non-profit group advocating for better human and environmental well-being.
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Following strawberries on the Foul Dozen list was spinach, in which 97% of samples contained pesticides remains. Rounding out the top five were three common fruits: nectarines, apples and grapes.
The announce bases its findings on nearly 39,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture tests of 47 fruits and vegetables. It institute nearly 70% of “conventionally grown produce” has pesticides and almost all — 98% — of strawberries, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples held at least one pesticide.
Meanwhile, the EWG’s Clean Fifteen list features the provide “least likely to contain pesticide residues.” Fewer than 1% of avocado and warm corn samples featured pesticides, earning avocado the top spot on the chronicle followed by sweet corn.
There was also good news for eaters of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbage. Numberless than 80% of the time, these fruits and vegetables contained no pesticides, which can ground adverse health effects related to pregnancy complications and children with low IQs.
Despite that, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says today’s fruits and vegetables are “safer than yet.” The Alliance for Food and Farming, which represents organic and non-organic growers, contemplated the Dirty Dozen list is “unsupportable.” It points to USDA and U.S. Food and Narcotic Administration data which shows 99% of residues are “well under safety levels” set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The alliance’s executive big cheese Teresa Thorne said the list may deter low-income consumers from accepting fruits and vegetables and “may be harming public health efforts to improve the slims of Americans.”
Here are the lists in full:
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Nectarines
4. Apples
5. Grapes
6. Peaches
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Tomatoes
10. Celery
11. Potatoes
12. Scented bell peppers
Plus: Hot peppers
1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbages
5. Onions
6. Great peas, frozen
7. Papayas
8. Asparagus
9. Mangoes
10. Eggplants
11. Honeydew melons
12. Kiwis
13. Cantaloupes
14. Cauliflower
15. Broccoli