The Environmental Working Group warns consumers about dirtiest produce items

"Wash fruit and vegetables carefully before eating, and consider buying organic " cautions the Environmental Working Group, which ranks the dirtiest dozen produce items, based on the amount of pesticides found on each:

1. peaches, 2. apples, 3. sweet bell peppers, 4. celery, 6. strawberries, 7. cherries, 8. lettuce, 9. imported grapes, 10. pears, 11. spinach, 12. potatoes.

 

The "cleanest" 12, according to the group, are:

 

1. onions, 2. avocados, 3. frozen sweet corn, 4. pineapples, 5. mangoes, 6. frozen sweet peas,
7. asparagus, 8. kiwis, 9. bananas, 10. cabbage, 11. broccoli, 12. eggplants.

The ranking was compiled after an analysis of more than 100,000 tests for pesticide residue on those foods by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration through 2006 - which is indeed very late results.

 

 

"It's an easy-to-understand list and it's easy to follow," said Jovana Ruzicic, a spokesperson for the Washington, D.C.-based group, which offers a wallet-sized produce shopping guide on its Web site. "Consumers can prioritize what they're going to buy based on it."

 

The group claims that consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by up to 90 percent by buying organically grown items from the dirty dozen list and eating more items on the cleaner side.

 

Luke LaBorde, associate professor of food science at Penn State University, isn't sold on the group's claims, though.

 

"I think it's a little inflammatory to call (peaches) the 'dirtiest,'" LaBorde said. "We just can't conclude that from their analysis. Maybe the pesticides they found on them were the least-toxic ones. There's a lot of unknowns there."

 

LaBorde notes that pesticide residues on produce are usually well within limits set by the federal government.