Which Vegetables and Fruits are the Most Toxic

Every year EWG (Environmental Working Group- a non-profit organization) puts out their guides, The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen produce lists. These are a shopper's guide to pesticides found in produce.

These lists provides the top 12 fruits and vegetables that are heavily sprayed and which you should buy organic. I do not deviate from this list when I buy produce and you shouldn't either.

A single sample of strawberries showed 17 different pesticides according to the EWG and unfortunately, this is what we feed our families! Click here for other key findings.

The Dirty 12 Winners include:

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

The produce that is least likely to hold pesticide residues are noted below. Very few pesticides were detected on these and testing found very low total concentrations of pesticides.

The Clean 15 Winners include:

1. Avocados

2. Sweet Corn*

3. Pineapples

4. Cabbage

5. Sweet Peas Frozen

6. Onions

7. Asparagus

8. Mangos

9. Papayas*

10. Kiwi

11. Eggplant

12. Honeydew Melon

13. Grapefruit

14. Cantaloupe

15. Cauliflower

*According to the EWG website a small amount of sweet corn, papaya, and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from GE (genetically engineered) seed stock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid GE produce