The Environmental Working Group has released the annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ for the fifth year in a row. It’s broken up into two lists called the Dirty Dozen™ and Clean Fifteen™, which let you know the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues and the ones with the least potentially harmful chemicals and pesticides. To obtain a copy of the list go to www.ew.org.
According to the Environmental Working Group, nearly two-thirds of the fresh produce tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and analyzed by EWG contained pesticide residues.
For 2015:
- Apples top the Dirty Dozen™ list of most pesticide-contaminated produce.
- Peaches and nectarines have replaced strawberries and grapes in the number two and three spots.
- Avocados again top the Clean Fifteen™ and are joined by pineapples and cabbage as the cleanest produce.
- Dirty Dozen™: apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, snap peas, spinach, strawberries and sweet bell peppers (+hot peppers and kale/collard greens.
- Clean Fifteen™: asparagus, avocados, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, eggplant, grapefruit, kiwi, magoes, onions, papayas, pineapples, sweet corn, frozen sweet peas and sweet potatoes.
For more information on how to choose and plan a healthy diet, pick up a copy of Layne’s book: Beyond The Mediterranean Diet: European Secrets Of The Super-Healthy on sale at BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com.