A growing number of consumers are choosing organic fruits and vegetables as a way to avoid pesticides and support sustainable farming practices. However, organics are not always accessible or affordable for everyone, leaving consumers wondering how to enjoy the nutritional benefits of produce while limiting exposure to harmful chemicals.

This is where the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce really comes in handy. EWG researchers compile data from pesticide residue tests conducted by USDA and FDA scientists on 28,000 samples of 48 popular fruits and vegetables.

Based on these results, the most contaminated produce makes up EWG’s “Dirty Dozen^TM” list and those with the lowest potential for chemical residue make up the “Clean Fifteen.” By putting this important information in the hands of consumers, we can all minimize our toxic load.

Here are some of the highlights from this year’s guide:

Dirty Dozen Plus:

EWG's ranking uses six measures of pesticide hazards including the number of pesticides detected on a crop and the percent of samples testing positive. The “Plus” produce did not meet the Dirty Dozen criteria but were frequently contaminated with pesticides that are exceptionally toxic to the nervous system.

• Apples
• Celery
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Grapes
• Hot peppers
• Nectarines – imported
• Peaches
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Sweet bell peppers
• Kale/collard greens +
• Summer squash +

Clean Fifteen:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Cabbage
• Cantaloupe
• Sweet corn
• Eggplant
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Papayas
• Pineapples
• Sweet peas – frozen
• Sweet potatoes

It’s important to note that residue tests are conducted on produce that has been washed and/or peeled depending on how it is typically eaten. For examples, bananas, avocados and oranges are washed and peeled before testing, but leafy greens or grapes are only washed.

Get the Guide

For more test results and ways to reduce your exposure to pesticide residue, download the full report: EWG’s 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

Sources:

Environmental Working Group

Food Marketing Institute

The non-profit organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) just released its 2012 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce that reveals the total pesticide load for 46 popular fruits and vegetables. The guide also includes new information on pesticides in baby food and drinking water.

The EWG guide is famous for listing the worst offenders, dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” as well as the produce with the least pesticide residue, called the “Clean Fifteen.”

It’s important to note that these lists are based on data from the USDA pesticide testing program. The produce is washed and/or peeled prior to testing so the amount of chemicals detected represents what would be consumed.

Dirty Dozen Plus

These fruits and vegetables are best to buy organic.

1. Apples – 98% of conventionally grown apples had pesticides
2. Celery – Highly contaminated, celery tested positive for 57 different pesticides
3. Sweet Bell Peppers – Up to 15 pesticides were found on a single sample
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries -- Thirteen different pesticides were measured on a single sample of strawberries.
6. Nectarines (imported) -- Every single nectarine tested had measurable pesticide residues
7. Grapes -- As a category, grapes have more types of pesticides than any other fruit, with 64 different chemicals
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce -- Seventy-eight different pesticides were found on lettuce samples 
10. Cucumbers
11. Blueberries -- Domestic blueberries tested positive for 42 different pesticide residues
12. Potatoes

Plus: Green Beans and Leafy Greens (including Kale and Collard Greens)

This year EWG expanded the Dirty Dozen with a “Plus” category to highlight two crops -- green beans and leafy greens, meaning, kale and collard greens because they contain pesticides of special concern. They are commonly contaminated with organophosphate insecticides that are highly toxic to the nervous system.

Clean Fifteen

More than 90 percent of cabbage, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant and sweet potato samples had one or fewer pesticides detected. Of all the fruits and vegetables on the “clean” list, no single sample had more than 5 different chemicals detected.

1. Onions – Less that 1% of samples had any pesticides
2. Sweet Corn – Ninety-eight percent of samples had no detectable pesticide residues
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangos
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Cantaloupe (domestic)
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms

Pesticides in Baby Foods

New to EWG’s guide this year are the results of USDA testing of about 190 samples of prepared baby food consisting of green beans, pears and sweet potatoes.

Nearly all pear samples (92%) had at least one type of pesticide residue with 26% of samples containing five or more pesticides. A total of 15 different pesticides were found among the samples. One of the pesticides detected, iprodione, is categorized by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen and is not approved for use on pears.  Its presence in the sample constitutes a violation of federal law.

The green bean baby food  tested positive for five pesticides including organophosphates which were found in nearly 10% of samples.

The only good news in baby food testing:  sweet potatoes sold as baby food had virtually no detectable pesticide residues.

Pesticides on Tap

Also new to the guide are the results of USDA testing for pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural chemicals in community drinking water systems that use surface water such as reservoirs, lakes or rivers as their water sources.

Tests of 284 samples from 12 different water systems found:

• The presence of 65 pesticides or their metabolites
• The toxic herbicide atrazine or its metabolites in every single sample
• The herbicides 2,4-D and metolachlor in more than 70 percent of the samples
• Six other pesticides in at least half the samples

Get the Guide

For more test results and ways to reduce your exposure to pesticide residue, download the full report:  EWG’s 2012 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

Source:

Environmental Working Group

We often hear about the importance of eating lots of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. However multiple factors in our modern-day world have led to a decline in important nutrients in many crops. Coupled with the fact that only 11% of Americans are consuming the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, it’s no wonder that many people today are deficient in recommended amounts of key vitamins and minerals. More important, these nutrient deficiencies are linked to serious health problems.

How Nutrition is Lost

There are literally hundreds of factors that can contribute to nutrient loss in produce. And, each of these factors affects individual fruits or vegetables in varying degrees. But some of the most studied and significant nutrient zappers are:

• Modern farming practices – involve many techniques (seed selection, hybridization, fertilizers, pesticides) that trade off high crop yields for nutrient value
• Premature Harvest – many crops like apples and pears are picked long before they are ripe to allow for longer travel and storage. When crops are not allowed to ripen naturally, they often lose nutritional value.
• Long travel times – Produce that spends days in transport to market can lose nutritional value.

What You Can Do

There are many things you can do as a consumer to maximize the nutrient potential of your produce:

• Buying local, organic produce eliminates many of the factors that contribute to nutrient decline. Locally grown organic produce benefits from better growing conditions, better “ripeness” and freshness due to minimal travel. Locally grown organic produce may be slightly more expensive but usually packs a bigger nutritional punch. As for pesticides, learn which fruits are vegetables especially important to buy organic.
• If local, organic produce is not available, choose frozen or fresh versus canned. As frozen vegetables are flash-frozen right after harvest, they can retain more nutrients than fresh vegetables that were not picked fully ripe or spent too much time in transit or on store shelves.
• Whether fresh or frozen, choose those marked with USDA “U.S. Fancy” shield which designates the best produce which tends to be more nutrient-rich than lower grades “U.S. No. 1” and “U.S. No. 2.”
• When buying bagged lettuce or spinach, choose bags that are exposed to light as opposed to those at the back of a refrigerated case. Exposure to light can actually increase nutrient value for some produce on the store shelf.
• Consume vegetables raw as much as possible. If you are cooking veggies, use a method such as steaming or microwaving that uses little water and gentle heat. Avoid boiling or deep frying.
• Consider putting in a small organic garden and planting fruit or citrus trees. We have some tips to get you started.
• We haven’t talked much about grains here, but you should know that the same decline in nutrient value has occurred with grains as well. To insure the highest possible value, choose whole grains over processed grains as they contain more nutrient value overall. Buy organic, non-GMO whenever you can.

Plan B

If you want to be sure you’re getting all the essential nutrients your body needs, consider taking a high quality multi-vitamin/mineral supplement.

Wondering what’s missing in your veggies? Read the Declining Nutrition of Fruits and Vegetables.

Sources:

Journal of the American College of Nutrition

Harvard Medical School

Food and Agriculture Organization

Eating Well

Agricultural Research Service - USDA

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Choosing fruits and vegetables from organic sources over those grown conventionally (often tainted with health-harming pesticides) isn't the only way to ensure you're enjoying the most nutrients from your whole foods.

Because cooking in high temperatures and boiling water can remove as much as 50 percent of the nutrients in vegetables, knowing how to prepare whole foods the best way possible in order to preserve as much of their nutritional content is just as important to your health as selecting between organic and conventional.

Some smarter ways to protect the nutrient content in the fruits and vegetables you eat every day:

* Turn down the heat and stir-fry your vegetables in a small amount of oil.

* Turn up the heat a bit on your whole foods more gently by steaming them in boiling water.

* Regulate the heat electronically by preparing whole foods in your microwave, in a specially made container and with a minimum amount of water to prevent them from becoming overcooked or burned.

* Consider mixing fruits and vegetables in a blender with some juice or low-fat yogurt.

For more information about whole food nutrition, I urge you to read The Declining Nutrition of Fruits and Vegetables in this month's CNCA Newsletter.

ConsumerReports.org November 18, 2009 Free Podcast