The dirty dozen and the clean fifteen

As a family we try to buy organic foods but it gets expensive. So I made a deal with my husband, we would at least try to avoid the "Dirty Dozen." This is a list, produced by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), listing the 12 foods with the highest concentration of pesticides. If you don't know about EWG, they are one of the greatest non-profits out there. The group is dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. 

The following comes from the EWG's 2016 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™:




"This year, includes strawberries, apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. Each of these foods tested positive for a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce.

Key findings:

• More than 98 percent of strawberry samples, peaches, nectarines, and apples 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 strawberries showed 17 different pesticides"

• avocados, 

• sweet corn, 

• pineapples, 

• cabbage, 

• frozen sweet peas, 

• onions, 

• asparagus, 

• mangoes, 

• papayas, 

• kiwis, 

• eggplant, 

• honeydew melon, 

• grapefruit, 

• cantaloupe, 

• and cauliflower

To take it a step further, here is the list ofEWG's Clean Fifteen™ (the produce least likely to hold pesticide residues):