The New Dirty Dozen

12 foods to eat organic—and 15 that are naturally clean

April 25, 2013

In an ideal world, you'd eat organic all the time, but we know sometimes organic food is hard to come by or just too expensive. You need to prioritize—but how? For the ninth year in a row, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its "Dirty Dozen and Clean 15" lists of the most and least pesticide-contaminated foods at your market.

The lists use data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Data Program, which collects pesticide-residue data on 28,000 samples of washed and peeled fruits and vegetables. EWG's scientists go over the data and rank the various fruits and vegetables based on how many samples contained pesticide residues, how many pesticides were detected on each sample, and what the levels of individual pesticides were.


This year, 67% of the produce tested contained detectable levels of pesticides. Among some of the more contaminated samples were grapes and sweet peppers, samples of which tested positive for 15 different pesticides, and cherries and cherry tomatoes, which were found to contain 13 different pesticide residues.

The researchers were particularly concerned by baby-food testing results. A shocking 94% of pear samples tested positive for pesticide residues and, of those, 18% contained more than five different pesticides. To put that in perspective, less than 11% of pineapples, a fruit that's one of the least contaminated, had detectable pesticide residues of any kind.

It's not just the presence of pesticides, either, that concerns EWG's scientists, says Sonya Lunder, senior research analyst at EWG. The Environmental Protection Agency sets limits on how much of any given pesticide can remain on a food intended for human consumption, and they do take health consequences into account, but just not enough, says Lunder. "If a person was eating food will the highest legally allowable level of pesticide residues, they would risk serious health consequences," she says, pointing to the example of baby food. The levels they found on fruits and vegetables intended for baby food were so high that a 22-pound baby fed a four-ounce jar of some foods they tested would get nearly 50% of the daily maximum considered safe for pesticides linked to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as long-term neurological damage. (Vegetable growers don’t have to meet different standards for veggies grown for adult foods and those grown for baby foods.)

EWG insists that people shouldn't stop eating fruits and vegetables—they're good for you, organic or not. But if you do eat them, opt for organic versions of those on the "Dirty Dozen Plus" list.

The "Dirty Dozen Plus"
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Cherry tomatoes
4. Cucumbers
5. Grapes
6. Hot peppers
7. Imported nectarines
8. Peaches
9. Potatoes
10. Spinach
11. Strawberries
12. Sweet bell peppers
+ Kale and collard greens
+ Summer squash

Kale, collard greens, and summer squash were added to the "avoid" list because they were contaminated with organophosphates—pesticides that pose a particularly high risk to children's IQ and brain development even at low doses—and organochlorines, pesticides linked to stunted growth in kids.

The "Clean 15"
1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Cabbage
4. Cantaloupe
5. Sweet corn
6. Eggplant
7. Grapefruit
8. Kiwi
9. Mangos
10. Mushrooms
11. Onions
12. Papayas
13. Pineapples
14. Frozen sweet peas
15. Sweet potatoes

More from Prevention: 100 Cleanest Packaged Foods

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