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Some fruits and vegetables may contain pesticides and chemicals, so it is usually recommended to rinse these products additionally before eating.
It is best to wash vegetables before eating to remove dirt, bacteria and pesticide residue.
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, the first piece of advice we can give is to wash them. Whether you buy fresh fruits and vegetables from a grocery store, a local farm, or the organic section of the supermarket, it’s a good idea to wash them in case they contain pesticides or other chemicals that could affect your health. Most evidence suggests that fruits and vegetables sold in grocery stores are completely safe for human consumption and contain only trace amounts of chemicals.
Sure, the thought of pesticides or chemicals in your food may worry you. But don’t worry: The USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDF) found that more than 99 percent of foods tested met standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and 27 percent had no pesticide residues at all.
To be clear, some chemicals and pesticides are okay to have residue. Also, not all chemicals are harmful, so don’t panic the next time you forget to wash your fruits and vegetables. You’ll be fine, and the chances of getting sick are very low. That said, there are other issues to worry about, such as bacterial hazards and blemishes like salmonella, listeria, E. coli, and germs from other people’s hands.
Some types of produce are more likely to contain persistent pesticide residues than others. To help consumers identify which fruits and vegetables are most contaminated, the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit food safety organization, has published a list called the “Dirty Dozen.” The group examined 47,510 samples of 46 types of fruits and vegetables tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, identifying those that contained the highest levels of pesticides when they were sold.
But which fruit has the most pesticide residue, according to a new study by The Dirty Dozen? Strawberries. It may be hard to believe, but the total amount of chemicals found in this popular berry exceeds that of any other fruit or vegetable included in the analysis.
Below you’ll find the 12 foods most likely to contain pesticides and the 15 foods least likely to be contaminated.
The Dirty Dozen is a great indicator to remind consumers which fruits and vegetables need to be washed most thoroughly. Even a quick rinse with water or a spray of detergent can help.
You can also avoid many potential risks by purchasing certified organic fruits and vegetables (grown without the use of agricultural pesticides). Knowing which foods are more likely to contain pesticides can help you decide where to spend your extra money on organic produce. As I learned when analyzing the prices of organic and non-organic foods, they are not as high as you might think.
Products with natural protective coatings are less likely to contain potentially harmful pesticides.
The Clean 15 sample had the lowest level of pesticide contamination of all the samples tested, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely free of pesticide contamination. Of course, that doesn’t mean the fruits and vegetables you bring home are free of bacterial contamination. Statistically, it’s safer to eat unwashed produce from the Clean 15 than from the Dirty Dozen, but it’s still a good rule of thumb to wash all fruits and vegetables before eating.
EWG’s methodology includes six measures of pesticide contamination. The analysis focuses on which fruits and vegetables are most likely to contain one or more pesticides, but does not measure the level of any one pesticide in a particular produce. You can read more about EWG’s Dirty Dozen study here.
Of the test samples analyzed, EWG found that 95 percent of samples in the “Dirty Dozen” fruit and vegetable category were coated with potentially harmful fungicides. On the other hand, nearly 65 percent of samples in the fifteen clean fruit and vegetable categories contained no detectable fungicides.
The Environmental Working Group found several pesticides when analyzing test samples and found that four of the five most common pesticides were potentially hazardous fungicides: fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid and pyrimethanil.
Post time: Apr-07-2025