As someone who loves to eat fruits and vegetables, I was alarmed to read about the pesticides and chemicals that exist on our food!

Washing your produce doesn't always do the job of making it safe to eat. Did you know that nearly 70 percent of conventionally grown produce is contaminated with pesticide residues? Tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found 230 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on thousands of produce samples analyzed. Based on these tests, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released their list of the Dirty Dozen™ fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues, and the Clean Fifteen™, for which few, if any, residues were detected.

Meet the 2018 Dirty Dozen™:
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Nectarines
4. Apples
5. Grapes
6. Peaches
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Tomatoes
10. Celery
11. Potatoes
12. Sweet Bell Peppers
These 12 foods contained higher pesticide concentrations than other produce. In fact, a single sample of strawberries tested positive for 20 different pesticides. The EWG recommends that consumers buy organic, non-genetically modified (non-GMO) produce from the Dirty Dozen™ list to reduce consumption of pesticides.

Now for some good news, meet the Clean Fifteen™:
1. Avocados
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbages
5. Onions
6. Frozen Sweet Peas
7. Papayas
8. Asparagus
9. Mangoes
10. Eggplants
11. Honeydews
12. Kiwis
13. Cantaloupes
14. Cauliflower
15. Broccoli

With low total concentrations of pesticide residues, these foods offer consumers the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while limiting exposure to pesticides.