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The Environmental Working Group released the Clean 15- produce with the fewest pesticides.
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When news came out that there is a list of twelve ‘dirty’ vegetables that have the highest pesticide count, the effect wasn’t what healthy eating advocates had hoped for. Instead of shoppers buying more organic produce, anxiety set in and shoppers actually bought less. It’s estimated that only 1 in 10 adults get the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Many of which are superfoods that boost immunity and are high in the antioxidants and vitamins our bodies need to reduce the risk of diseases and cancers. So, next to their Dirty Dozen, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) decided to take a more positive note, this time publishing the Clean 15– a list of fruits and vegetables with virtually no pesticide residue.
What’s So Bad About Pesticides?
Pesticides were originally used to make our food better. They are substances (most often chemicals) that are sprayed onto crops or plants to kill pests and control weeds that can threaten produce from flourishing. But, unfortunately these chemicals hang around in the water, soil and food items themselves that can make them potentially harmful when we come in contact with them. More often than not, it’s the workers on these farms who are most at risk. The general population comes in contact with these chemicals in levels that are generally low enough to be considered safe. However, there are concerns about the frequency and continuous exposure to pesticides over a long period of time.
Worldwide we use about 1000 different pesticides. And, they’re on most of our food. It’s estimated that nearly 70% of all non-organic produce in the U.S contains pesticide residues by the time it reaches the store. Many of these are chemicals that are harmful to our endocrine and nervous systems and are potential carcinogens. Take for instance the fungicide and likely carcinogen Imazalil that is used on citrus fruits. Kale often tests positive for the pesticide DCPA another possible carcinogen.
How Can You Protect Your Health?
One of the best solutions to avoiding pesticides is to buy organic. But, it’s not always possible or a top priority when making a particular recipe or shopping trip. For those moments, there are simple ways you can cleanse your fruits and vegetables of pesky pesticides.
Give them a bath. Instead of simply rinsing off your veggies, try letting them soak for 20 minutes in a solution of either salt water, a few teaspoons of vinegar or a baking soda solution. According to some studies, researchers have been able to completely remove pesticides from apples soaked for even 15 minutes.
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Get Scrubbing. You’re mom was right. No matter how clean your produce looks, always rinse it off and give it a thorough scrub. A stiff brush is all you need to rub off pesticides that could be stuck to the wax on some of your produce.
Peel. Surprisingly this isn’t the number 1 recommended method. While peeling can be effective at getting rid of some pesticides, it won’t get rid of them all. Also, the skin is where all the antioxidants and some nutrients are, so you might want to reconsider and eat the skin to retain all of the plant’s nutrients.
Advocate for change. Join local advocacy groups in your area to petition your lawmakers to ban harmful pesticides. Ask them to strengthen pesticide safeguards for farm workers. And, advocate for safe produce to be in schools.
What Are The Clean Fifteen?
This year’s Clean 15 offer a quick roundup of of fruits and vegetables that have little to no pesticide residue. Using data from the US Department of Agriculture, the EWG rates the foods that have the highest and lowest amount of pesticide used. Nearly 50 produce items are then washed, peeled or scrubbed before testing for pesticide residue.
The results found that these items rarely had more than 2 different pesticides used. Compare that to the Dirty Dozen’s kale and collard greens which have more than 20 different pesticides used on them. Seventy percent of and vegetables on the Clean 15 list also contain less than 2% pesticide residue.
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapple
- Onion
- Papaya
- Sweet Peas Frozen
- Sweet Potato
- Asparagus
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Cabbage
- Honeydew Melon
- Kiwi