The Dirty Dozen

Some big changes to the Dirty Dozen list this year ~ green beans and blueberries are now on the list as 2 of the fruits and vegetables to start buying organic whenever possible. The Dirty Dozen is a list of the 12 fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticides, as determined by the Environmental Workers Group (EWG).

Luckily, due to high demand, organic produce is becoming more widely available and can also be bought in bulk to keep the costs down. Another way to keep costs down is to buy the frozen version. Fruits and vegetables are flash frozen which means that they are frozen as soon as they reach peak ripeness ~ this means that they retain a very high level of nutrients (especially compared to the canned version).

Dirty Dozen

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, Collard, Mustard Greens
4. Peaches
5. Pears
6. Nectarines
7. Apples
8. Grapes
9. Bell & Hot Peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green Beans

The Clean Fifteen

The EWG also composes a list called the Clean Fifteen, which contains the 15 fruits and vegetables with the least pesticides. These are the ones that are safer to buy in the conventional (non-organic) version. But please take note that sweet corn, papaya, and summer squash are sometimes made with genetically modified seeds so we recommend buying those organic whenever possible.

Clean Fifteen

1. Avocado
2. Sweet Corn (however, it can be produced from genetically modified seeds so we recommend buying organic when possible)
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya (however, it can be produced from genetically modified seeds so we recommend buying organic when possible)
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Asparagus
8. Honeydew Melon
9. Kiwi
10. Cabbage
11. Mushrooms
12. Mangoes
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Watermelon
15. Carrots