Celery Tested Positive For 57 Pesticides; Apples Top “Dirty Dozen” List

The Washington based Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit organization, has released the seventh edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce with updated information on 53 fruits and vegetables.

EWG highlights the worst offenders with its “Dirty Dozen” list and the cleanest conventional produce with its “Clean 15” list.

According to EWG, apples top the “Dirty Dozen List” for highest amounts of pesticides, claiming pesticides were found on 98% of the apples the USDA tested; celery tested positive for 57 different pesticides; and some strawberries had as many as 13 different pesticides.

Apples tested contain the pesticide thiabendazole, a known carcinogen, among others. “We found that nearly every apple sampled, 98 per cent, had pesticide residues,” says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst. “This is an accumulation of 48 different pesticides.”

The LATimes notes the Pesticide Action Network provides a list of pesticide residues found on apples, with icons to indicate whether the pesticides are known carcinogens.

Making an appearance in the guide for the first time is the herb cilantro. Thirty-three unapproved pesticides were detected on 44% of cilantro samples tested; the highest percentage of unapproved pesticides in any tested produce since 1995.

Also making a first appearance are green onions, cranberries and mushrooms. Mushrooms made the “Clean 15” list, while honeydew was the only item to drop off that list this year. Cherries were removed from the “Dirty Dozen” list, but lettuce, which has made the list in previous years, reappeared.

Six different measures of contamination are used to determine a score for each type of produce. The factors include how many pesticides were detected in testing, and at what levels.

Consuming five fruits and/or vegetables from the “Dirty Dozen” list would be equivalent to ingesting an average of 14 different pesticides each day.

“I really worry that pesticides on food are unhealthy for the tender, developing brains and bodies of young children,” said Dr. Harvey Karp, MD, FAAP, creator of the book/DVD The Happiest Baby on the Block.

“Parents don’t realize they’re often feeding their little ones fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide residues. Studies show even small amounts of these chemicals add up and can impair a child’s health when they’re exposed during the early, critical stages of their development. When pesticide sprayers have to bundle up in astronaut-like suits for protection, it’s clear parents want to feed their families food containing as little of these toxic chemicals as possible.”

The Dirty Dozen list includes:

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Strawberries

4. Peaches

5. Spinach

6. Nectarines (imported)

7. Grapes (imported)

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Potatoes

10. Blueberries

11. Lettuce

12. Kale/collard greens

The Clean 15 list includes:

1. Onions

2. Corn

3. Pineapples

4. Avocado

5. Asparagus

6. Sweet peas

7. Mangoes

8. Eggplant

9. Cantaloupe (domestic)

10. Kiwi

11. Cabbage

12. Watermelon

13. Sweet potatoes

14. Grapefruit

15. Mushrooms

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Inquisitive foodie with a professional investigative background and strong belief in the organic farm to table movement. Author of Bad Seeds: A FriendsEAT Guide to GMO's. Buy Now!