Buyer beware of the "Dirty Dozen" of pesticide contaminated produce!
If the recent e coli outbreak in Europe taught us anything it is that tainted food can most certainly be hazardous to your health. That includes pesticide contamination which, just like e coli, really can't be seen or smelled.
The Environmental Working Group issues a report on pesticide contaminated produce!
The Environmental Working Group or EWG released a report that ranked produce in terms of the amount of pesticide contamination a broad sample was shown to have. They called the list the "Dirty Dozen" of produce and recommend that any on the list be bought in organic form.
The tests covered at least 700 samples of each variety and the "Dirty Dozen" had pesticide residue on them 98% of the time!
So which has the dishonor of making the "Dirty Dozen" of pesticide contaminated produce?
- Apples,
- Celery,
- Strawberries,
- Peaches,
- Spinach,
- Imported Nectarines,
- Imported Grapes,
- Sweet Bell Peppers,
- Potatoes,
- Domestic Blueberries,
- Lettuce, and
- Kale
Source, The Packer
For all of these it is recommended by the EWG that consumers go the organic route. For the produce that made the list of the least pesticide contaminated produce see the article here.
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