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The Dirty Dozen


You can almost bet that what is happening in the USA is very much the same situation in your neighborhood.

"The Environmental Working Group has released its annual “Dirty Dozen” list ranking the conventionally grown fruits and vegetables most likely to be contaminated with pesticides, based on the sensible notion that while the USDA says most samples meet legal limits, "legal doesn't always mean safe." Apples, already effectively banned in Europe for averaging four times the European limit for DPA - which the EPA has less than reassuringly said shows “reasonable certainty of no harm” - lead the list. Other horrors follow close behind: A Dirty Dozen Plus sub-category is headed by kale and collard greens, an average potato has more pesticides by weight than anything else, a single grape sample showed traces of 15 pesticides and a strawberry showed 13. Avocados topped the Clean Fifteen list, followed by pineapple, kiwi, papaya and mango. As usual, eat your fruits and veggies, but carefully. The full list:

Dirty:   
                                                                           
Strawberries
Grapes
Celery
Peaches
Spinach
Sweet bell peppers
Nectarines (imported)
Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Snap peas (imported)
Potatoes

 Clean:

Apples
Cauliflower
Cantaloupe
Grapefruit
Eggplant
Kiwi
Papaya
Mangoes
Asparagus
Onions
Sweet peas – frozen
Cabbage
Pineapples
Sweet corn
Avocados

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