Shopper's Guide - Wellness Girl

EWG’s 2015 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

EWG (the Environmental Working Group) analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for these popular fresh produce items. All 48 foods are listed below from worst to best (lower numbers = more pesticides)

Note: EWG analyzed pesticide tests of 48 popular produce items. Domestic and imported versions of two items – blueberries and snap peas – showed sharply different results, so we have ranked those domestic and imported items separately. As a result, the full list of foods ranked by the Shopper’s Guide displays 50 entries. — taken from EWG.org site

    1.   Apples
   2.   Peaches
   3.   Nectarines
   4.   Strawberries
   5.   Grapes
   6.   Celery
   7.   Spinach
   8.   Sweet bell peppers
   9.   Cucumbers
   10.   Cherry tomatoes
   11.   Snap peas – imported
   12.   Potatoes
   13.   Hot Peppers
   14.   Blueberries – domestic
   15.   Lettuce
   16.   Kale/Collard greens*
   17.   Cherries

    18.   Plums
   19.   Pears
   20.   Green beans
   21.   Raspberries
   22.   Winter squash
   23.   Tangerines
   24.   Blueberries – imported
   25.   Carrots
   26.   Summer squash*
   27.   Broccoli
   28.   Snap peas – domestic
   29.   Green onions
   30.   Bananas
   31.   Oranges
   32.   Tomatoes
   33.   Watermelon
   34.   Honeydew melon

    35.   Mushrooms
   36.   Sweet potatoes
   37.   Cauliflower
   38.   Cantaloupe
   39.   Grapefruit
   40.   Eggplant
   41.   Kiwi
   42.   Papayas*
   43.   Mangos
   44.   Asparagus
   45.   Onions
   46.   Sweet peas frozen
   47.   Cabbage
   48.   Pineapples
   49.   Sweet Corn*
   50.   Avocados

* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from GE [genetically engineered] seedstock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid GE produce.