It has become very important to eat organic, locally grown food as much as we possibly can. Here is what the Environmental Working Group found when they tested some of our most common fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides ranks pesticide contamination for 53 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 51,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2009 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Food and Drug Administration. Nearly all the studies on which the guide is based tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled.\u201d —-EWG.org (Environmental Working Group)<\/p>\n
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Contamination was measured in 6 different ways:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides<\/p>\n \u2022 Percent of samples with two or more pesticides<\/p>\n \u2022 Average number of pesticides found on a single sample<\/p>\n \u2022 Average amount (level in parts per million) of all pesticides found<\/p>\n \u2022 Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample<\/p>\n \u2022 Total number of pesticides found on the commodity<\/p>\n Here are some of the statistics of pesticides on our produce.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Every sample of imported nectarines tested positive for pesticides, followed by apples (97.8 percent) and imported plums (97.2 percent).<\/p>\n \u2022 92 percent of apples contained 2 or more pesticide residues\u201a followed by imported nectarines (90.8 percent) and peaches (85.6 percent).<\/p>\n \u2022 Imported grapes had 14 pesticides detected on a single sample. Strawberries, domestic grapes both had 13 different pesticides detected on a single sample.<\/p>\n \u2022 As a category. peaches have been treated with more pesticides than any other produce, registering combinations of up to 57 different chemicals. Apples were next, with 56 pesticides and raspberries with 51.<\/p>\n Celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, lettuce and greens (kale and collards) are all vegetables most likely to retain pesticide contamination:<\/p>\n \u2022 Some 96 percent all celery samples tested positive for pesticides, followed by cilantro (92.9 percent) and potatoes (91.4 percent).<\/p>\n \u2022 Nearly 90 percent of celery samples contained multiple pesticides, followed by cilantro (70.1 percent) and sweet bell peppers (69.4 percent).<\/p>\n \u2022 A single celery sample was contaminated with 13 different chemicals, followed by a single sample of sweet bell peppers (11), and greens (10).<\/p>\n \u2022 Hot peppers had been treated with as many as 97 pesticides, followed by cucumbers (68) and greens (66).<\/p>\n Dirty Dozen: Foods to Buy Organic<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. apples<\/p>\n 2. celery<\/p>\n 3. strawberries<\/p>\n 4. peaches<\/p>\n 5. spinach<\/p>\n 6. nectarines, imported<\/p>\n 7. grapes, imported<\/p>\n 8. sweet bell peppers<\/p>\n 9. potatoes<\/p>\n 10. blueberries, domestic<\/p>\n 11. lettuce<\/p>\n 12. kale collard greens<\/p>\n Clean 15: Okay to Buy Non-Organic<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. onions<\/p>\n 2. sweet corn<\/p>\n 3. pineapples<\/p>\n 4. avocado<\/p>\n 5. asparagus<\/p>\n 6. sweet peas<\/p>\n 7. mangoes<\/p>\n 8. eggplant<\/p>\n 9. cantaloupe, domestic<\/p>\n 10. kiwi<\/p>\n 11. cabbage<\/p>\n 12. watermelon<\/p>\n 13. sweet potatoes<\/p>\n 14. grapefruit<\/p>\n 15. mushrooms<\/p>\n \u201cThe EWG\u2019s Shopper\u2019s Guide is not built on a complex assessment of pesticide risks but instead reflects the overall pesticide loads of common fruits and vegetables. This approach best captures the uncertainties of the risks of pesticide exposure and gives shoppers confidence that when they follow the guide they are buying foods with consistently lower overall levels of pesticide contamination.\u201d http:\/\/www.ewg.org\/foodnews\/methodology\/<\/a><\/p>\n