[Annia]

I wanted to share this, with those who are health conscious. And here's the full data: Environmental Working Group || foodnews.org

Shopper’s Guide to
Pesticides in Produce

When you’re grocery shopping, it’s easy to find labels and
pick foods that help you reduce cholesterol and saturated
fat, avoid antibiotics, or steer clear of artificial colors, flavors
and sweeteners. But when it comes to pesticides, consumers
have been left in the dark. Now there’s help.

The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce lists the 12
popular fresh fruits and vegetables that are consistently the
most contaminated with pesticides and those 12 fruits and
vegetables that consistently have low levels of pesticides. If
you are concerned about pesticides in your diet, this handy
wallet card can help you choose produce that lowers
exposure to pesticides for you and your family.

For the most contaminated items, we suggest substituting
organically grown produce whenever possible. When this is
not an option, we still recommend eating lots of fresh fruits
and vegetables but use this guide to buy those that typically
have fewer pesticides.

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing concern in the scientific community
regarding the subtle ways in which small doses of pesticides
affect people, especially during critical periods of fetal
development and childhood when they can have long
lasting adverse effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides
are worrisome, not well understood or in some cases
completely unstudied, shoppers would be wise to minimize
exposure to pesticides whenever possible.

Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already
considers how people typically wash and prepare produce
(for example, apples are washed before testing, bananas are
peeled). While washing and rinsing fresh produce may help
reduce pesticide residues, it does not eliminate them. Peeling
reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the
drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet,
wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to
reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

How This Guide Was Developed
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-forprofit
Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the
results of more than 100,000 tests for pesticides on produce
collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration between 1992 and 2001. A
detailed description of the criteria used in developing the
rankings as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that
have been tested, is available at Environmental Working Group || foodnews.org, EWG’s
companion site to the Shopper’s Guide.

Highest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits
and vegetables are consistently
the most contaminated with
pesticides—buy these organic.

Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cherries
Grapes (imported)
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red Raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries

Lowest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits
and vegetables consistently have
the lowest levels of pesticides.
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Corn (sweet)
Kiwi
Mangos
Onions
Papaya
Pineapples
Peas (sweet)

Two sources:

http://www.yobabyyogurt.com/pdf/EWGShoppersGuide.pdf

http://www.foodnews.org/pdf/EWG_pesticide.pdf

[Ashley]

Thanks for sharing Annia! For some reason, I always though corn would be on the high pesticide list.

[magosienne]

i already knew about the apples, sadly it's one of my top fave fruits although now that we are moving i might look for local producers, often those have environmental if not organic labels.