EWG's 2015 Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen - Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

"Should I buy organic or conventional produce?"..... Do you ever find yourself struggling with that question? Are you familiar with the Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen?  If you aren't, you should be, it may help answer that nagging question!  It's a guide produced by the Environmental Working Group for consumers identifying the levels of pesticide residue in produce.  The Dirty Dozen are just that, produce that has been identified to have the highest findings of pesticide residue and the Clean Fifteen produce have shown to have the least amounts of pesticide residue.  

To make shopping easy, I saved the picture below to my phone so it's easily accessible as a handy reference tool when grocery shopping.   It helps me make produce decisions when organic produce is not available or the cost of organic vs conventional may be a factor.  It has also allowed me to establish my non-negotiable organic produce list, for me when it comes to apples, strawberries or grapes, it's organic or nothing.  Being an informed and aware consumer allows you to make the best choices for you and your family. That being said, a conventional apple will always be better than a bag, bowl or plate of processed or pre-packaged junk food! Remember it's all about a healthy lifestyle not a diet.  Every time you eat is an opportunity to nourish your body! 

Below is a summary of the findings, provided from the EWG's website, click here to read the whole report or see the full list click here.

Thanks to Environmental Working Group for the picture and information

Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015 

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.

Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.

Key findings:

• - 99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
• - The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
• - A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
• - Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.

The Clean Fifteen™
EWG's Clean Fifteen™ list of produce least likely to hold pesticide residues consists of avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations of pesticides on them.

Key findings:

• - Avocados were the cleanest: only 1 percent of avocado samples showed any detectable pesticides.
• - Some 89 percent of pineapples, 82 percent of kiwi, 80 percent of papayas, 88 percent of mango and 61 percent of cantaloupe had no residues.
• - No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen™ tested positive for more than 4 types of pesticides.
• - Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen™ vegetables. Only 5.5 percent of Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides.

Dirty Dozen PLUS™For the third year, we have expanded the Dirty Dozen™ with a plus category to highlight two types of food that contain trace levels of highly hazardous pesticides. Leafy greens - kale and collard greens - and hot peppers do not meet traditional Dirty Dozen™ ranking criteria but were frequently found to be contaminated with insecticides toxic to the human nervous system. EWG recommends that people who eat a lot of these foods buy organic instead.

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Source:
EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™." EWG's 2015 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.