‘Dirty Dozen’ List Reveals Produce with Most Pesticide Contamination

Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its annual “Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” also known as the “Dirty Dozen” list. This publication analyzes data from tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration on 47,510 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. This year, EWG determined that 75% of all conventional fresh produce sampled had residues of potentially harmful pesticides, while 95% of samples of produce types on the Dirty Dozen list contained pesticides. EWG also compiles a Clean Fifteen list that shows fruits and vegetables with very low or no pesticide residues. The Dirty Dozen list is topped by strawberries, spinach, and kale, collard, and mustard greens.