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Mar 21, 2024 · Pears. Nectarines. Apples. Bell & Hot Peppers. Cherries. Blueberries. Green Beans. More than 50 pesticides were detected on samples from each item on the Dirty Dozen, except cherries. And all of the produce on the Dirty Dozen had at least one sample with at least 13 pesticides—and some had as many as 23, this year's report reads.
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The 2024 guide includes data from 47,510 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. Dirty Dozen™ Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides.
- Pesticides – Known to Cause Health Problems
- What’s New in The 2023 Shopper’s Guide
- The 2023 Dirty Dozen
- The 2023 Clean Fifteen
- Where Does Shopper’s Guide Pesticide Data Come from?
- Why Does EWG Recommend Reducing Exposure to Pesticides in Your Diet?
- Are Genetically Modified Crops Affected by Pesticides?
- U.S. Pesticide Regulations Are Inadequate
- Methodology
- References
For this year’s guide, the overall picture remains problematic: Too many pesticides are still found in too high quantities on too much of the produce millions of Americans eat every day. Many peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown disturbing links between pesticides and human health issues. These findings raise important questions about the sa...
Blueberries and green beans are on the Dirty Dozen this year. Both crops still have troubling concentrations of pesticides that can harm the human nervous system, called organophosphate insecticides, though the levels have decreased over the past decade. Several green bean samples had residues of acephate, a toxic pesticide, which the EPA banned mo...
Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides: 1. Strawberries 2. Spinach 3. Kale, collard and mustard greens 4. Peaches 5. Pears 6. Nectarines 7. Apples 8. Grapes 9. Bell and hot peppers 10. Cherries 11. Blueberries 12. Green beans Some highlights from the Dirty Dozen testing: 1. Mo...
These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of the most recent USDA data.1 1. Avocados 2. Sweet corn 3. Pineapple 4. Onions 5. Papaya 6. Sweet peas (frozen) 7. Asparagus 8. Honeydew melon 9. Kiwi 10. Cabbage 11. Mushrooms 12. Mangoes 13. Sweet Potatoes 14. Watermelon 15. Carrots Top takeaways for consume...
The Shopper’s Guide combines data from USDA and FDA tests from 2021 and up to 10 years earlier, with the exception of pineapple data, which is from 2002. The newest data released by the agencies included results of tests of more than 46,000 samples of produce, since it’s impossible to test every single piece of fruit and vegetable sold in the U.S. ...
With the knowledge that pesticides are known to cause potential health problems, people can use the Shopper’s Guide to reduce their exposure to these chemicals when buying fruit and vegetables. One way to do this is by choosing organic produce. Standards for growing organic produce ban the use of synthetic pesticides, which is a simple way to ident...
Genetically engineered crops, also known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs, are most commonly found in processed foods rather than in fresh produce. Corn syrup and corn oil, produced from predominantly GMO starchy field corn, are commonly found in processed foods. But you may find genetically modified zucchini, yellow squash, sweet corn, pa...
EWG is concerned about pesticides on produce because they are toxic by design, created expressly to kill living organisms – insects, plants and fungi considered “pests.” But many pesticides pose health dangers to people, too, including cancer, hormone disruption, and brain and nervous system toxicity. These hazards have been confirmed by independen...
EWG’s Shopper’s Guide ranks pesticide contamination on 46 popular fruits and vegetables by analyzing 46,569 samples taken by the USDA and the FDA. Each year the USDA selects a subset of these fruits and vegetables to test, rather than testing all crops every year. To create this guide, EWG uses data from the most recent one-to-two-year sampling per...
USDA, Pesticide Data Program. Agricultural Marketing Service. Available at: www.ams.usda.gov/datasets/pdp.Vigar, V., et al., A Systematic Review of Organic Versus Conventional Food Consumption: Is There a Measurable Benefit on Human Health? Nutrients, 2020; 12(1), 7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu1201...Kesse-Guyot et al. Key Findings of the French BioNutriNet Project on Organic Food-Based Diets: Description, Determinants, and Relationships to Health and the Environment. Adv Nutr. 2022 Feb 1;13(1)...Rempelos et al. Diet and food type affect urinary pesticide residue excretion profiles in healthy individuals: results of a randomized controlled dietary intervention trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Fe...Dec 5, 2022 · Thomas Galligan, Ph.D., a toxicologist with the EWG explains that the Dirty Dozen is not a list of fruits and vegetables to avoid. Rather, the EWG recommends that consumers choose organic versions of these twelve "Dirty Dozen" items, if available and affordable: Strawberries. Spinach. Kale, collards, and mustard greens. Nectarines. Apples. Grapes.
- Cara Rosenbloom, RD
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Mar 25, 2024 · Pears. Nectarines. Apples. Bell and hot peppers. Cherries. Blueberries. Green beans. On the flip side, it’s not all doom and gloom. EWG also releases an annual Clean Fifteen list, which ranks ...
Apr 30, 2024 · Pictured Recipe: Peach Galette. Almost all of the conventional peach samples—99%—contained pesticide residues, according to the EWG. And more than 65% had four or more pesticide residues. 23 Peach Recipes in Three Steps or Less. 6. Pears. Pictured Recipe: Vanilla, Cinnamon & White Wine Poached Pears with Yogurt.
