Update for Dirty Dozen (Produce Items Most Often Contaminated with Pesticides)

Published:  07/17/2015

Dirty Dozen and Clean 15: Produce with the most and least pesticides.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., studies pesticide testing data and creates a list of the produce most often contaminated with pesticides and those which are least likely to be contaminated. EWG says they create the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to help consumers lessen their exposure.

It's best to reduce our exposure to pesticide residue but keep in mind that most toxicology experts, nutritionists, and federal health officials agree that the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of low level pesticide exposure.

A study viewed here concluded that:

1) exposures to the most commonly detected pesticides on the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables present negligible risks,

2) substitution of organic forms of the dirty dozen for non-organic forms does not result in much reduction of consumer risks, and

3) the methodology used by the environmental advocacy group to rank commodities with respect to pesticide risks lacks scientific credibility.