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Check out EWG's Dirty Dozen list to help decide when you should splurge for organic produce – part of our annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™.
- Full List
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- FAQ
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- Press Release
EWG’s 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™: The...
- Full List
- Overview
- What is the Dirty Dozen list?
- The 2023 Dirty Dozen food list
- Are pesticides in our food supply harmful?
- Does organic produce contain pesticides?
- Should you avoid conventional forms of Dirty Dozen foods?
- Ways to reduce pesticide exposure from foods
- The bottom line
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) annually releases a list of 12 fruits and vegetables that have the highest levels of pesticide residue. The EWG calls this list the Dirty Dozen.
The demand for organic produce has grown exponentially over the past two decades.
Americans spent over 26 billion dollars on organic produce in 2010 compared to just one billion in 1990 (1).
One of the main concerns driving organic food consumption is pesticide exposure.
Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases the Dirty Dozen™ — a list of the 12 non-organic fruits and vegetables highest in pesticide residues.
This article lists the latest Dirty Dozen foods, separates fact from fiction when it comes to pesticide use and explains simple ways to reduce exposure to pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the public on issues like agricultural practices, natural resource protection and the impact of chemicals on human health (2).
Since 1995, the EWG has released the Dirty Dozen — a list of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticide residues.
Pesticides are substances commonly used in agriculture to protect crops from damage caused by insects, weed pressure and diseases.
To compile the Dirty Dozen list, the EWG analyzes over 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables, taken by the USDA and FDA to single out the worst offenders (3).
The EWG uses six measures to determine pesticide contamination of produce (3):
•Percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides
According to the EWG, the following conventional fruits and vegetables have the highest levels of pesticide residues (3, 5):
1.Strawberries: Conventional strawberries consistently top the Dirty Dozen list. In 2023, the EWG found that 30% of all strawberry samples contained ten or more pesticide residues.
2.Spinach: 76% of spinach samples contained pesticide residues, including permethrin, a neurotoxic insecticide that is highly toxic to animals (6).
3.Kale, mustard, and collard greens. 86% of all samples of leafy greens were found to contain two or more pesticide residues, including the neurotoxins imidacloprid, bifenthrin and cypermethrin.
4.Peaches: Over 99% of the peaches tested by the EWG contained pesticide residues, with 65% containing at least four.
5.Pears: Over 63% of pears tested by the EWG contained residues from five or more pesticides.
There are conflicting opinions about the safety of pesticide use in produce.
Though the pesticides used on crops are tightly regulated and kept well below harmful limits, there is concern over how repeated exposure to these substances affects health.
Several studies have linked pesticide exposure to negative health effects, such as respiratory problems, reproductive issues, endocrine system disruption, neurological damage and increased risk of certain cancers (7).
Children are considered to be at a greater risk of developing pesticide toxicity than adults due to their smaller size, reduced amounts of certain detoxifying enzymes and the fact that developing brains are more susceptible to neurotoxic pesticides (8).
Studies have shown that children born to mothers with high pesticide exposure exhibited mental delays of up to two years, including deficits in coordination and visual memory (9).
Childhood exposure to pesticides has also been linked to an increased risk of developing ADHD (10).
While standards for organic farming are different from conventional farming practices, organic farmers are permitted to use certain approved pesticides on their crops.
Organic farmers rely heavily on crop rotation, biological plant protection and hygiene practices to protect crops.
However, organic pesticides, such as copper, rotenone and spinosad, can be used in organic farming.
25 organic pesticides are approved for organic use versus the staggering 900 that are currently allowed to be used on conventional crops (15).
Just like pesticides used in conventional farming, organic pesticides are tightly regulated for safety but can be harmful to health in high doses.
For example, occupational exposure to the organic pesticide rotenone has been linked with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (16).
Many people choose organic produce in hopes of reducing their exposure to pesticides.
More evidence from research studies is needed to determine if an organic diet is healthier than a diet containing conventionally grown produce.
For those with the ability to purchase organic versions of high-pesticide produce, using this practice will likely result in lower overall exposure to pesticides.
However, it should be noted that pesticides aren’t just found in fruits and vegetables.
They’re widely used on other crops like cereal grains, as well as on lawns, flower gardens and to control insects (18, 19).
Since pesticides are so widespread, the best course of action to reduce your exposure is to choose organic foods when possible and practice more sustainable garden care and insect repelling methods.
The following are simple, safe and powerful methods you can use to reduce pesticide residues on produce:
•Scrub them in cold water: Rinsing fruit and vegetables in cold water while scrubbing them with a soft brush can remove some pesticide residues (20).
•Baking soda water: A study found that washing apples with a 1% baking soda and water mixture was more effective in removing pesticide residues than tap water alone (21).
•Peel fruits and vegetables: Removing the skin of Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce dietary intake of pesticide residues (22).
•Blanching: In one study blanching produce (exposing it to boiling, then cold, water) led to a more than 50% reduction in pesticide residue levels in all vegetable and fruit samples except peaches (23).
•Boiling: A study found that boiling strawberries significantly decreased pesticide residues, with reductions of 42.8–92.9% (24).
The goal of the Dirty Dozen list is to let consumers know which fruits and vegetables have the highest amount of pesticide residues.
While this list can be helpful for those who are worried about pesticide use in food, it’s not yet clear how concerned you should be over ingesting pesticide residues in the first place.
For those who wish to err on the side of caution, it’s best to purchase organic versions of the Dirty Dozen foods.
While the impact of pesticides on health is not yet fully understood, the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables for health, whether conventional or organic, is firmly established.
- Jillian Kubala, MS, RD
Mar 21, 2024 · Every year, the EWG's Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen provide an overview of the fruits and vegetables that contain the most and least pesticides. These lists can help you decide where it's worth it to splurge on organic produce versus save your cash for that fancy olive oil you've been eyeing.
People also ask
What is the Dirty Dozen?
Which fruits topped the Dirty Dozen list this year?
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What is a clean 15 & Dirty Dozen?
- Strawberries. Pictured Recipe: Strawberry Tart. Strawberries remain atop the list as the most pesticide-contaminated food. According to EWG, more than 99% of the strawberries sampled tested positive for at least one pesticide and 30% had residues of 10 or more pesticides.
- Spinach. Pictured Recipe: Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach. Spinach has more pesticide residue by weight (remember spinach leaves weigh very little) compared to any of the other produce tested, according to EWG.
- Kale, Collards and Mustard Greens. Pictured recipe: Citrus Kale Salad. According to the EWG, 86% of the conventional leafy green samples, including kale, collards and mustard greens had detectable levels of two or more pesticide residues.
- Nectarines. Over 90% of the conventional nectarine samples contained two or more pesticides, per the EWG. Healthy Nectarine Recipes.
Mar 19, 2024 · Nectarines, apples, bell and hot peppers, cherries, blueberries and green beans rounded out the list of the 12 most contaminated samples of produce. It’s dubbed the “ Dirty...
Mar 25, 2024 · Strawberries, spinach, and kale rank the highest among dirty dozen produce with potential pesticide contamination. Here are the fruits and vegetables to always buy organic.
