Groceries are expensive, especially if you’re buying organic, but there are some foods definitely worth the splurge if you want to avoid pesticides. But how do you know which ones are okay to buy the conventional version of and which ones to pay more for the organic variety? The Environmental Working Group’s 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce is here to help.
- Every year, the nonprofit environmental health organization delivers their “Dirty Dozen” list of produce with the most pesticides, as well as their “Clean Fifteen” list, which reveals those lowest in pesticides.
- To come up with their lists, researchers analyzed testing data (mostly from the USDA) of more than 47-thousand samples of 46 nonorganic fruits and vegetables, all of which were washed, peeled or scrubbed, just like we would at home.
- Their analysis found traces of 254 pesticides in all the produce tested and 209 of those chemicals were on produce in the “Dirty Dozen” list.
2024’s Dirty Dozen (most to least contaminated)
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale, collard and mustard greens
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Bell and hot peppers
- Cherries
- Blueberries
- Green beans
2024’s Clean 15 (least to most contaminated)
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Frozen sweet peas
- Asparagus
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Watermelon
- Mushrooms
- Mangoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
Source: CNN