An apple a
day…just might increase your pesticide exposure, according to this year’s Dirty
Dozen/Clean Fifteen analysis by the U.S.-based environmental research group,
Environmental Working Group (EWG).
The organization does an annual analysis of
pesticide residue on produce based on data gathered by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. EWG uses this data to compile of
list of the 12 fruits and vegetable which carry the highest pesticide load when
they reach your plate.
It’s not all doom and gloom - EWG also publishes a list
of the 15 fruits and vegetables that contain the least amount of pesticide
residue.
The goal isn’t to scare you off of eating lots of fruits and vegetables. EWG sees it more as filling a labeling gap of sorts – just letting consumers know what’s in, or on, our food so we can take steps to reduce our overall exposure to pesticides.
Consider these lists as
guidelines, suggestions for what fruits and vegetables to consumer more of and
which you might want to eat less often or buy organic.
The goal isn’t to scare you off of eating lots of fruits and vegetables. EWG sees it more as filling a labeling gap of sorts – just letting consumers know what’s in, or on, our food so we can take steps to reduce our overall exposure to pesticides.
And
regardless of the various ratings given to fruits and vegetables, a diet rich
in fruits and vegetables outweighs any of the risks posed by consuming
pesticide residue.
Almost all
of our produce is imported and most comes from the U.S. so this data is
relevant to what lands on our dinner plate here in Canada.
About 65
percent of the produce sampled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture tested
positive for pesticide residue. Ninety-nine percent of apples tested positive
for a least one pesticide. The
average potato had more pesticides (by weight) than any other food and some
single samples of strawberries, celery and cherry tomatoes showed 13 different
pesticides each. A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides.
Part of the
worry is that we’re consuming a bit of a cocktail of pesticides. Individual
pesticides may be tested for their safety but different fruits and vegetables
can be sprayed with half a dozen or more kinds of pesticides and no one knows
how these mixtures affect people.
As always
children are most at risk since their developing bodies are more susceptible to
toxins.
Fortunately
there are lots of fruits and vegetable that tested low for pesticide exposure. Not a single fruit sample from the Clean
Fifteen tested positive for more than 4 types of pesticides and just 5.5
percent of all Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides.
Consider these lists as
guidelines, suggestions for what fruits and vegetables to consumer more of and
which you might want to eat less often or buy organic.
Clean
Fifteen: Avocado, Sweet corn, Pineapple, Cabbage, Frozen peas, Onions,
Asparagus, Mangoes, Papaya, Kiwi, Eggplant, Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower,
Sweet potato.
Dirty Dozen: Apples, Strawberries, Grapes, Celery, Peaches,
Spinach, Bell Peppers, Nectarines, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peas (imported).
Kale and collard greens and hot peppers receive an honorable mention for
containing residue of pesticides that are known neurotoxins. It’s not only
fresh forms of this produce that tested positive for pesticide residue, apple
juice and baby food tested positive for residue as well.
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