Informing consumers about the amounts of pesticides sprayed onto conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, and their potential effects on the human body (especially children), the Environmental Working Group has come out with its seventh annual “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.”
Photo courtesy of arch1design.com.
The shopper’s guide updates information on 53 fruits and vegetables, highlighting the worst pesticide offenders with its “Dirty Dozen” list and the cleanest conventional fruits and vegetables with its “Clean 15” list.
The six worst offenders of the dirty dozen (from highest pesticide levels to least) are: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, and imported nectarines.
The rankings were synthesized by analysts at the EWG and based on data collected from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2009.
The produce was ranked on a composite score, weighing factors including: the percent of individual produce tested and found to have detectable levels of pesticide on them; and the percent of individual produce with two or more pesticides on them.
Of the apples tested, 97.8 percent had detectable levels of pesticides on them, and of those with pesticides on them, 92 percent contained two or more pesticide residues, according to the findings.
To make matters worse, most samples were washed and peeled prior to testing, so the rankings reflected the amount of chemicals likely present on the foods when eaten.
Celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, lettuce and greens (kale and collards) were the vegetables most likely to retain pesticide contamination.
Of the celery tested, 96 percent tested positive for pesticides, and of those with pesticides on them, nearly 90 percent of individual samples contained multiple pesticides. A worst, there was “a single celery sample (that) was contaminated with 13 different chemicals,” said the findings.
The EWG’s concerns about pesticides are that they “are designed to kill living organisms. The implications of wide-scale pesticide pollution of Americans’ bodies have not been fully explored.”
Different pesticides have been linked to a variety of health problems, according to the EWG, including:
- Brain and nervous system toxicity.
- Cancer.
- Skin, eye, and lung irritation.
- Hormone disruption.
The U.S. Environmental Agency adds that, “Pesticide poisoning is especially harmful to children since their brains and nervous systems are at early critical stages of development. Because their bodies are still growing, children have fewer natural defenses.”
EWG President Ken Cook said the purpose of the guide is to help “consumers concerned about pesticides to make better choices among conventional produce, and let them know which fruits and vegetables they may want to buy organic.”
Cook also freely acknowledges that “though buying organic is always the best choice, we know that sometimes people do not have access to that produce or cannot afford it.”
The Clean 15 list gives consumer information about what conventionally grown foods they can buy that have lower pesticide levels and lower prices.
The six cleanest produce on the list (from lowest pesticide levels to highest) are: onions, sweet corn, pineapples, avocados, asparagus, and sweet peas.
Focusing solely on vegetables, the findings show that the “least likely to test positive for pesticides” are: onions, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms.
Focusing solely on fruits, the findings show that the “least likely to test positive for pesticides” are: pineapples, avocados, mangoes, domestic cantaloupes, kiwi, watermelons, and grapefruits.
The EWG also suggest how consumers can lower pesticides levels on their own produce, saying, “Wash, wash, wash! Washing conventional produce won’t remove all of the residues, but it does make a difference.”
The FDA additionally advises people to “wash produce with large amounts of cold water, and scrub with a brush when appropriate. Throw away the outer leaves of leafy vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage. Supermarkets as a rule don’t wash produce before putting it out.”
Another suggestion by the EWG is that produce should be eaten when it’s in season because “it is more likely to be grown domestically, where there are tighter restrictions on organophosphate pesticides use, as opposed to abroad.”
The EWG also suggests that “women who are pregnant (should) choose organic or conventional fruits and veggies with the lowest levels of pesticide residues.”
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