Blueberries, strawberries again on the 'Dirty Dozen' list

Approximately 95 per cent of nonorganic strawberries, leafy greens such as spinach and kale, collard and mustard greens, grapes, peaches and pears tested contained detectable levels of pesticides, according to the 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

Approximately 95% of nonorganic strawberries, leafy greens such as spinach and kale, collard and mustard greens, grapes, peaches and pears tested by the United States government contained detectable levels of pesticides, according to the 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

Nectarines, apples, bell and hot peppers, cherries, blueberries and green beans rounded out the list of the 12 most contaminated samples of produce. It’s dubbed the “Dirty Dozen” by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, an environmental and health advocacy organization that has produced the annual report since 2004.

Pesticides have been linked in studies to preterm births, congenital malformations such as neural tube defects, spontaneous abortions and an increase in genetic damage in humans. Exposure to pesticides has also been associated with lower sperm concentrations, heart disease, cancer and other disorders.

Farmworkers who use or are exposed to pesticides are at highest risk, according to studies. A 2022 meta-analysis found workers exposed to pesticides were nearly five times as likely to have DNA damage while a February study found children exposed at an early age showed poorer neurodevelopment from infancy to adolescence.

It’s not all bad news. Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, onions and papayas led the “Clean Fifteen” list of conventionally grown produce with the least amount of trace pesticides — nearly 65% of the fruits and veggies in that grouping had no detectable pesticide residues, according to the report released Wednesday.

Rounding out the “Clean Fifteen” were frozen sweet peas, asparagus, honeydew melons, kiwis, cabbage, watermelons, mushrooms, mangoes, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Each year, a rotating list of domestic and imported produce is tested by U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Staffers at the USDA Pesticide Data Program wash, peel and scrub fruits and vegetables as consumers would, while workers at the FDA only brush dirt off the produce. Then the fruits and vegetables are tested for more than 250 different pesticides and the results are posted online.