The 12 Most Contaminated Fruits and Greens

Fruit and veggies are the MVPs of your weight-reduction plan because of their nutritional vitamins, minerals, and health-boosting vitamins. Nevertheless, regardless of their spectacular dietary profiles, some produce carry excessive concentrations of pesticide residue that may negate these advantages. Fortuitously, the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2025 Shopper’s Information to Pesticides in Produce ranks fruit and veggies in response to their pesticide residue ranges, serving to you make knowledgeable selections about what to purchase and eat. 

Fast primer: Pesticides are substances (or mixtures of drugs) used to kill or management pests, together with bugs, weeds, fungi, and rodents. They’re generally used to guard the agriculture of fruit and veggies and to repel undesirable organisms which will carry illness. The chemical compounds are utilized when rising produce or after it’s harvested, although many pesticides stay on objects once they attain your kitchen.

Pesticides are used to guard crops, however they are often notably dangerous to human well being. Analysis suggests that insecticides could disrupt hormones, have an effect on fertility, cut back ovarian perform, and diminish sperm high quality. They could additionally enhance the danger of breast most cancers, kind 2 diabetes, and heart problems. 

Given the info, it’s essential to cut back your publicity to pesticides, says EWG Vice President for Science Alexis Temkin, PhD. “The EWG’s Shopper’s Information is a software to tell customers and assist them with their produce procuring selections, with the objective of a weight-reduction plan wealthy in additional fruit and veggies however low in pesticide residue,” she says. 

To simplify grocery procuring, the EWG created the Clear Fifteen, representing objects with the least pesticide residue, and the Soiled Dozen, which represents produce with the best residue. The information has been revealed since 2004, however this 12 months’s version not solely examines the quantity, presence, and quantity of pesticides on produce, but additionally evaluates their toxicity to people, Temkin says. 

Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at the EWG’s Shopper’s Information outcomes, together with tips about learn how to successfully cut back your threat of pesticide publicity. 

Understanding the EWG’s Shopper’s Information to Pesticides in Produce

The EWG Shopper’s Information evaluated information from pesticide residue exams carried out by the USA Division of Agriculture (USDA) on greater than 53,000 samples of 47 fruit and veggies, Temkin says. Previous to testing, all produce samples have been washed for 15 to twenty seconds below working water, and inedible peels — comparable to these on citrus and bananas — have been eliminated, she explains. 

Even after this preparation, traces of 256 pesticides have been nonetheless discovered on all of the examined fruit and veggies. Consequently, the EWG categorizes fruit and veggies into two teams — Clear Fifteen and Soiled Dozen — based mostly on pesticide toxicity, in addition to their detected frequency and concentrations. 

Which pesticides have been discovered on the produce?

In accordance with the EWG’s evaluation of the USDA information, the next pesticides have been discovered on the 47 fruit and veggies examined. 

Fungicides: Fungicides comparable to pyrimethanil and fludioxonil are particularly designed to manage or remove fungal ailments. 

Pyrethroids: Pyrethroids, comparable to permethrin and cypermethrin, are artificial pesticides developed to repel pests, together with mosquitoes, flies, gnats, spiders, and ants. 

Neonicotinoids: Neonicotinoids, comparable to acetamiprid and imidacloprid, are just like nicotine (a naturally occurring insecticide) and are designed to handle pests and bugs, together with aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs.

EWG’s 2025 Clear Fifteen 

Practically 60% of Clear Fifteen fruit and veggies confirmed no detectable pesticide residue, and solely 16% of samples contained residues of two or extra pesticides. No pattern from the highest six Clear Fifteen objects (pineapple, candy corn, avocado, papaya, onion, and candy peas) had residues of greater than three pesticides. Bananas, a brand new member of the Clear Fifteen checklist, additionally had one of many lowest general pesticide toxicity ranges among the many examined fruit and veggies.

The next 15 forms of produce had the bottom pesticide residue ranges of all 47 sorts sampled, in response to the EWG’s evaluation of the newest USDA information. 

1. Pineapple 
2. Candy corn (recent and frozen)
3. Avocados 
4. Papaya 
5. Onions 
6. Candy peas (frozen)
7. Asparagus 
8. Cabbage 
9. Watermelon 
10. Cauliflower 
11. Bananas 
12. Mangoes 
13. Carrots 
14. Mushrooms 
15. Kiwi 

EWG’s 2025 Soiled Dozen 

Pesticides have been discovered on 96% of samples from all 12 forms of produce. A complete of 203 pesticides have been detected on the Soiled Dozen, with samples of each kind of produce (besides cherries) displaying greater than 50 pesticides. Each merchandise, aside from potatoes, had a mean of 4 or extra pesticides detected in particular person samples, whereas potatoes averaged two.

Of the 47 objects examined, the next 12 fruit and veggies have been discovered to be probably the most contaminated with pesticides, in response to the EWG’s evaluation of the most recent USDA information. 

1. Spinach 
2. Strawberries 
3. Kale, collard, and mustard greens 
4. Grapes 
5. Peaches 
6. Cherries 
7. Nectarines 
8. Pears 
9. Apples 
10.  Blackberries 
11. Blueberries 
12. Potatoes

***Bell peppers, scorching peppers, and inexperienced beans have been additionally included on the Soiled Dozen checklist on account of their general pesticide toxicity. 

The way to mitigate pesticide threat 

“Before everything, we wish to ensure buyers are getting numerous fruit and veggies into their weight-reduction plan, whether or not that’s conventionally or organically grown,” Temkin says.

To scale back pesticide publicity, Temkin recommends shopping for both natural or standard variations of produce (recent or frozen) from the Clear Fifteen checklist, in addition to natural variations of things on the Soiled Dozen each time potential.

You would not have to keep away from consuming meals listed within the Soiled Dozen, natural choices simply have decrease pesticide residue, Temkin says. It’s because analysis discovered natural produce has decrease publicity to artificial pesticides. 

Moreover, all produce needs to be completely washed for at the very least 15 seconds below working water earlier than consuming. Though water doesn’t remove all pesticide residue, Temkin says it considerably decreases the quantity of pesticides whereas additionally eradicating grime, particles, and probably dangerous micro organism.