Every year, the Environmental Working Group
releases a “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.” Their findings
are based on laboratory tests carried out by the USDA Pesticide Testing
Program and the Food and Drug Administration. This group determines the
average concentration of pesticides found on fruit and vegetables, and
creates a list to ensure that all consumers are better informed before
they buy:
The produce is listed in order, beginning
with those which are most contaminated. Most of us know about the
dangers of pesticides, but just to reiterate, they have been linked to
memory disorders, respiratory problems, depression, skin conditions,
birth defects, higher rates of miscarriage, neurological conditions such
as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and even cancer.
Astonishingly, a study carried out by
researchers at the Public Health Institute, the California Department of
Health Services, and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health found that
it was six times more likely that a child exposed to toxic pesticides
while in the womb would have autism.
The EWG’s “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce” may be especially
useful to parents who are trying to incorporate more fruit and
vegetables into their child’s diet. Evidence has shown that the human
brain is not fully formed until around the age of 12, and childhood
exposure to some common pesticides may have a negative impact on the
development of the central nervous system.
Not all of us have the opportunity or the
means to buy 100% organic fruit and veg. This is why the EWG creates
their guide every year – to inform us of the fruit and vegetables that
should be bought as organic. When picking up the 12 following produce
items, you definitely shouldn’t buy them unless they’re organic.
1. Strawberries
2. Apples
3. Nectarines
4. Peaches
5. Celery
6. Grapes
7. Cherries
8. Spinach
9. Tomatoes
10. Sweet bell peppers
11. Cherry tomatoes
12. Cucumbers
Luckily there’s some good news as the EWG
also have a guide for those fruit and vegetables that have very little
pesticide contamination at all. These are known as the “Clean Fifteen”
and can be seen below:
1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbage
5. Frozen sweet peas
6. Onions
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Honeydew
13. Grapefruit
14. Cantaloupe
15. Cauliflower