EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce
Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides.
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard & mustard greens
4. Peaches
5. Pears
6. Nectarines
7. Apples
8. Grapes
9. Bell & hot Peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green Beans
Tested for, but not on either list
These 19 items were included in the fruit and vegetable testing data from the USDA and FDA but do not fall into either the Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen lists.
13. Tomatoes
14. Winter squash
15. Celery
16. Potatoes
17. Cherry Tomatoes
18. Lettuce
19. Tangerines
20. Cucumbers
21. Broccoli
22. Summer squash*
23. Plums
24. Eggplant
25. Raspberries
26. Grapefruit
27. Snap Peas
28. Oranges
29. Cantaloupe
30. Bananas
31. Cauliflower
Clean 15
These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWGβs analysis of the most recent USDA data.
32. Carrots
33. Watermelon
34. Sweet Potatoes
35. Mangoes
36. Mushrooms
37. Cabbage
38. Kiwi
39. Honeydew melon
40. Asparagus
41. Sweet peas (frozen)
42. Papaya*
43. Onions
44. Pineapple
45. Sweet corn*
46. Avocados
EWGβs 2023 Shopperβs Guide to Pesticides in Produce
Nearly 75 percent of non-organic fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful pesticides, EWGβs 2023 Shopperβs Guide to Pesticides in Produce finds. In this yearβs guide, blueberries and green beans join our Dirty Dozen list of the 12 fruits and vegetables sampled that have the highest traces of pesticides.
Any exposure to pesticides is a problem, given what we know about several ways they can harm humans. But the findings are particularly concerning for children, who are particularly vulnerable to many of the health harms associated with pesticide exposure.
The Shopperβs Guide represents EWGβs analysis of the latest fruit and vegetable testing data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The 2023 guide includes data from 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. The USDA peels or scrubs and washes produce samples before testing, whereas the FDA only removes dirt before testing its samples. Even after these steps, the tests still find traces 251 different pesticides.
The guide includes our Dirty Dozen as well as our Clean Fifteen, which shows which fruits and vegetables tested have very low or no traces of pesticides.
Some of the USDAβs tests show traces of pesticides long since banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. Much stricter federal regulation and oversight of these chemicals is needed.
Consumption of fruit and vegetables, organic or not, is critical to a healthy diet and good health. But for shoppers concerned about dietary pesticide exposure, EWGβs Shopperβs Guide, released every year since 2004, provides information about the fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide residues, so consumers can make the best decisions for their families.
PESTICIDES β KNOWN TO CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS
For this yearβs guide, the overall picture remains problematic: Too many pesticides are still found in too high quantities on too much of the produce millions of Americans eat every day.
Many peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown disturbing links between pesticides and human health issues. These findings raise important questions about the safety of pesticide mixtures found on produce.
Research from Harvard University shows that consuming fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residues may lessen the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, including protection against cardiovascular disease and mortality.
A recent EWG investigation published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health found that the EPA has failed to adequately protect children from pesticides. For almost 90 percent of the most common pesticides, the agency has neglected to apply the Food Quality Protection Actβmandated childrenβs health safety factor to the allowable limits.
The threats pesticides pose to childrenβs health have been known since at least 1993 β 30 years ago β when the National Academies of Science published a landmark study warning of inadequate oversight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents concerned about their childrenβs exposure to pesticides consult EWGβs Shopperβs Guide.
Choosing organic fruits and vegetables can almost immediately reduce the amounts of residues in a personβs body, because the harmful chemicals used on non-organic, or conventional, produce are no longer a factor.
WHATβS NEW IN THE 2023 SHOPPERβS GUIDE
Blueberries and green beans are on the Dirty Dozen this year. Both crops still have troubling concentrations of pesticides that can harm the human nervous system, called organophosphate insecticides, though the levels have decreased over the past decade.
Several green bean samples had residues of acephate, a toxic pesticide, which the EPA banned more than 10 years ago from use on green beans grown for food.
Also this year, cantaloupe was removed from the Clean Fifteen, and carrots were added.
By Environmental Working Group Science TeamΒ Β Β MARCH 15, 2023
source: www.ewg.org
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