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Dirty Dozen List: Are You Eating the Most Pesticide-Laden Produce?

Environmental Working Group released it’s 2018 Dirty Dozen list and it serves as a solid reminder that we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to cleaning up the food system. This year, the report found that almost 70 percent of non-organic samples tested positive for at least one pesticide. (In many cases, the numbers were much higher.) And get this: A single strawberry sample harbored 22 different pesticide and pesticide breakdown residues.
And while spinach nutrition is loaded with calcium and vitamins, there’s one reason to always try to choose organic. Researchers found DDT, a neurotoxic insecticide banned in the U.S., in an alarming number of samples. (A whopping 40 percent of nonorganic spinach samples, to be exact.)
A “Clean 15” list is also included in the report, identifying the non-organic produce least likely to be contaminated with pesticide levels. I advise choosing and growing organic as often as possible, but if you’re on a budget or your selection is limited, these lists help you focus your attention on avoiding the most contaminated fruits and veggies.
Another quick point I’d like to make … many of these results are disturbing and many of these chemicals are banned for use on food in other countries. Still, they don’t violate U.S. laws because our regulations for pesticides in food are outdated and aren’t keeping us safe.

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Key Findings of the 2018 Dirty Dozen Report

• The United States Department of Agriculture tests found 230 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on thousands of produce samples analyzed.
  
• Environmental Working group analyzed USDA pesticide residue data and found that almost 70 percent of non-organic produce sampled tested positive for pesticide contamination.
  
• More than 98 percent of samples of strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide. (1)
  

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The 2018 Dirty Dozen List & Clean 15 List
EWG’s Dirty Dozen (2)

1. Strawberries
   
2. Spinach
   
3. Nectarines
   
4. Apples
   
5. Peaches
   
6. Pears
   
7. Cherries
   
8. Grapes
   
9. Celery
   
10. Tomatoes
    
11. Sweet Bell Peppers
    
12. Potatoes
    

EWG’s Clean 15 
The Clean 15 list includes produce that is least likely to be contaminated by pesticides. Here are some highlights from the Clean 15 list:

• Less than 1 percent of avocado and sweet corn samples tested positive for any detectable pesticides; they scored the cleanest of all produce tested.
  
• More than 80 percent of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbages had no pesticide residues.
  
• None of the fruit on the Clean Fifteen list tested positive for more than four pesticides.
  
• Important: Some papayas and sweet corn in the United State is GMO, so in my opinion, it’s best to always choose organic for those.
  

Here’s the 2018 Clean 15 List: (3)

1. Avocados
   
2. Sweet Corn*
   
3. Pineapples
   
4. Cabbage
   
5. Onions
   
6. Frozen Sweet Peas
   
7. Papayas*
   
8. Asparagus
   
9. Mangos
   
10. Eggplant
    
11. Honeydew
    
12. Kiwi
    
13. Cantaloupe
    
14. Cauliflower
    
15. Broccoli
    

Some sweet corn and papayas sold in the United States are GMOs, so choose organic to avoid GMO versions of these crops.

Dirty Dozen: The Fertility Factor
The 2018 Dirty Dozen report also focuses on high pesticide residues and a link to infertility. Environmental Working Group flagged a pair of Harvard studies that found: (4)

• Women who ate produce with high pesticide residue levels (2 or more a day) had a 26 percent lower risk of having a successful pregnancy when compared to women who ate cleaner produce.
  
• Eating more pesticide-laced produce also impacted male infertility markers, too. Men who ingested more pesticides on fruits and veggies suffered from poorer sperm quality.
  

Why is this important? Sperm counts of men living in North America, Australia, Europe and New Zealand have dropped 50 percent in less than 40 years. (5, 6)

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Digging Deeper into the Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen: Strawberries

• A single sample of strawberries showed 22 different pesticides/pesticide breakdown products.
  
• About 20 percent of strawberries tested positive for residues of 10 or more pesticides
  
• Sixteen percent of strawberries contained carbendazim, an endocrine disruptor that harms the male reproductive system.
  
• Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, was detected on nearly 30 percent of samples; The EPA classifies it as a possible human carcinogen.
  
• Most strawberries are grown in California, where about 300 pounds of pesticides are used on each acre of strawberry fields. (For comparison, corn uses about 5 pounds of pesticides per acre.)
  
• About 9 million pounds of poisonous fumigation gases are injected into strawberry fields before planting; this not only kills pests but the beneficial microbes in the soil. It’s a sterilization process.
  
• Some of these gases were originally created as chemical warfare agents. (7)
  

The Dirty Dozen: Spinach

• Spinach samples had, on average, 1.8 as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.
  
• The average level of pesticides on nonorganic spinach equaled 7.1 different chemicals.
  
• The worst sample contained 18 different pesticides or pesticide breakdown products.
  
• EWG notes that higher levels of permethrin, a lice-killing chemical, routinely crops up in spinach (76 percent of samples). The neurotoxic insecticide chemical can trigger tremors and seizures at higher levels.
  
• Lower levels of permethrin are linked to symptoms of ADHD in kids. In fact, when permethrin levels were detected in kids’ urine, they were two times more likely to have an ADHD symptoms diagnosis. (8)
  

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Dirty Dozen: The Brain Damage Factor
This year’s Dirty Dozen report also focused on chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic insecticide commonly found on:

• Apples
  
• Bell peppers
  
• Peaches
  
• Nectarines
  

Despite the fact that scientists within the administration reviewed the evidence and found chlorpyrifos to negatively impact a child’s brain and behavior, Pruitt reversed the ban and is allowing its use until at least 2022 when it’ll need another safety assessment. (9)

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Final Thoughts on EWG’s 2018 Dirty Dozen List

• EWG released its annual Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists, highlighting the fruits and vegetables most and least likely to harbor pesticide residues.
  
• Strawberries are high on the contamination list again this year,  but spinach and pears were also highlighted for extreme pesticide residues.
  
• This list should in no way deter you from eating fruits and vegetables, but it should make you wary of modern chemical farming. Using chemicals to fumigate the soil and kill weeds, microbes and bugs has some unwanted side effects, including killing soil health and beneficial microbes.
  
• Pesticides are linked to dozens of health problems, including certain cancers, symptoms of ADHD, autism, Parkinson’s and a whole host of other issues.