For Pesticides: Apples Are Worst, Onions The Best

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/13/137149149/for-pesticides-apples-are-worst-onions-the-best?sc=fb&cc=fp

by SCOTT HENSLEY
June 13, 2011

Maybe you overlooked the U.S. Department of Agriculture's yearly roundup of pesticides in foods released last month. It's long and full of tongue-twisting chemicals — like tetrahdrophthalimide and pyraclostrobin — found on some popular produce.

But the Environmental Working Group, an advocate for stricter pesticide controls, has crunched the numbers from that report and a bunch of others to come up with a guide for concerned shoppers.

There's a "Dirty Dozen," headlined by apples, celery and strawberries. And there's also a catchy "Clean 15" of fruits and vegetables lowest in pesticides. The top three on that list: onions, sweet corn and pineapples.


The EWG suggests that people buy organically grown fruits and vegetables for the varieties on its list of the most likely to carry pesticide residues. But the group also says the health benefits from produce mean that "eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all."


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