If you are trying to avoid products contaminated with pesticides, your non-organic strawberries should be the first things to disappear, according to a recent study.
On Wednesday, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its annual “Buyer’s Guide to Pesticides in Production”, which found that strawberries were contaminated with more pesticides than any other fruits or vegetables.
For its annual report, the EWG analyzes test data conducted by the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration on more than 46,000 samples from 46 popular crops, to find out which fruits and vegetables have the highest and lowest levels of pesticide contamination.
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Strawberries topped the EWG’s “Twelve Dirty Twelve” list of the most contaminated crops, followed by spinach in second place and kale, kale and mustard in third place.
Strawberries have been found contaminated with more pesticides than any other fruit or vegetable, according to the EWG.
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Previously, kale was alone in third place, but kale and mustard joined it this year, according to a press release. The statement said the most commonly detected pesticide on these green leaves was DCPA, which the Environmental Protection Agency classified as a possible human carcinogen and which the European Union banned in 2009.
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Following the green leaves, the next most contaminated crops include nectarines in fourth, apples in fifth, grapes in sixth, cherries in seventh, peaches in eighth, pears in ninth, peppers and pepper in tenth, celery in eleventh and tomatoes in tenth second.
According to the press release, 2021 is the first year that peppers and peppers have been added to the EWG’s “Dirty Twelve” list.
“The USDA found 115 pesticides in peppers – most, by far, on any item,” the statement said.
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The EWG also found out which crops had the lowest levels of pesticide residues on its annual “Clean Fifteen” list.
Avocados were the least contaminated by pesticides, according to the EWG report.
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Avocados were the least contaminated with pesticides, followed, in order, by sweet corn, pineapple, onion, papaya, frozen sweet peas, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kiwi, cauliflower, mushrooms, melon and melon.
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“Whether organic or conventionally grown, fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet,” said EWG toxicologist Thomas Galligan, Ph.D., in a statement. “We ask consumers who are concerned about pesticide intake to consider, when possible, buying organic versions of EWG’s Dirty Dozen foods, or conventional products from our Clean Fifteen.”
The EWG released its annual “Consumer Guide to Pesticides in Production” report on Wednesday.
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Overall, the EWG found that nearly 70% of fresh, non-organic products sold in the United States have at least some “potentially harmful chemical pesticide residues,” said the group’s report.
To avoid pesticides, the EWG recommends that customers buy organic products when they can. However, the group is aware that it may not be possible for everyone.
“A completely organic diet is simply not affordable or affordable for many Americans,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a world-renowned pediatrician and epidemiologist, in a statement. “The EWG Buyer’s Guide provides simple and useful guidelines for choosing organic and conventional products to provide children with healthy fruits and vegetables they need, but not the pesticide load they don’t need.”