clean fifteen 2022 The 'Clean 15' is the top 15 conventional fruits & veggies with the least amount of pesticide residue.
The Dirty Dozen™ are the top twelve types of produce found to have the highest levels of pesticide residue. In contrast, the Clean Fifteen™ ranks produce with the lowest pesticide contamination.
The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables with the highest level of pesticide residues created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to educate the public on food safety.
Bananas are a good example—while they didn't make the Clean 15, they are close. Usually organic bananas are about twenty cents more per pound at my grocery store, so I still buy the organic bananas.
EWG's Clean Fifteen for 2022
Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest produce – less than 2 percent of samples showed any detectable pesticides. Just under 5 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had residues of two or more pesticides.
Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries Strawberries are the crop that is most heavily dosed with pesticides in America. On average, 300 pounds of pesticides are applied to every acre of strawberries (compared to an average of 25 pounds per acre for other foods).
Once again, strawberries, spinach and leafy greens (like kale and collards) are the top offenders. Nectarines, apples and grapes follow, with bell peppers, cherries, peaches, pears, celery and tomatoes stacking on.
As a rule of thumb, washing with water reduces dirt, germs, and pesticide residues remaining on fresh fruit and vegetable surfaces. Washing and rubbing produce under running water is better than dunking it. Wash fruits and vegetables from the farmers' market, your home garden, and the grocery store.
Conventional bananas are sprayed with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Yes, this is just as bad as it sounds—but not just for you. The workers on many conventional plantations are often exposed to these toxins. This leads to a host of health conditions including skin diseases and kidney failure.
Testing of produce sold in the US shows that the Clean Fifteen — including avocado, cabbage, onion, mango, kiwi and broccoli — often contain little or no detectable pesticide residues. Additionally, these residues are well within EPA limits.
Pesticides and Lemons
And while the lemon is not on the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, a study by the Food Additives & Contaminants journal revealed that 95 percent of sampled citrus tested positive for pesticides.
Garlic and Onions aren't on the list! You can eat them without (as much) worry and with the knowledge that they're so healthy for your family.
Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid, a chemical that can cause death if a human consumes between 5.7 and 11.7 pounds of rhubarb leaves, depending on the specific leaves and the individual's weight, according to Healthline.
First, conventional coffee is among the most heavily chemically treated foods in the world. It is steeped in synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides – a real mouthful with a bad taste. Not only does the environment suffer from this overload, but so do the people who live in it.
The manchineel tree is the most dangerous tree on the planet. A single bite of the fruit can lead to death, and touching the bark, sap or leaves results in painful blisters.
Peeling was necessary to remove the greatest amount of pesticides in the skin. Washing with water and/or other solutions as well as the cooking process (blanching and frying) helped to eliminate most of the pesticide residues from the potato tubers.
Corn and soy are the biggest glyphosate users, but chickpeas, wheat, and oat crops are also heavily treated with it as well. The EPA-approved use of glyphosate is as an herbicide, but there's another, more controversial, “off-label” use.
The 2022 Clean 15 list now contains mango, sweet potato, and watermelon, taking the place of eggplant, broccoli, and cauliflower. Overall, nearly 70% of these fruit and veggie samples had no detectable pesticide residue after proper preparation.
A. Peeling foods with edible skins will probably remove additional pesticide residue, but not all. (Some pesticides are systemic, meaning they're absorbed through the plant's root system into the flesh and can't be washed off.)