The ‘Dirty Dozen’ Fruits and Vegetables That Have the Most Pesticides

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce reveals the fruits and vegetables that comprise the “dirty dozen” items that have the most pesticides of all the products in the supermarket.

Of the 46 items in the EWG’s analysis, 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides. Four of the most detected chemicals are fungicides: fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid, and pyrimethanil. Fludioxonil and pyrimethanil also appear in the highest average concentrations of pesticides found in the Dirty Dozen, according to the EWG.

The “dirty dozen” grocery items that contain the most pesticides are:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard and mustard greens
4. Grapes
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Nectarines
8. Apples
9. Bell and hot peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green beans

These types of chemicals coat fruits and vegetables to prevent and kill mildew and other fungal diseases. They are added to maintain the freshness of fresh fruits and vegetables as they travel and are put on display for purchase in grocery stores.

It’s finally here! EWG’s 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, including the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen, is available now: https://t.co/8Wz7Li4wzt

— EWG (@ewg) March 20, 2024

The EWG determined that 75% of “all conventional fresh produce sampled had residues of potentially harmful pesticides.” The Dirty Dozen’s samples contained pesticides at a level of 95%.

“Emerging evidence suggests many widely used fungicides may disrupt human hormone systems,” explained EWG Senior Toxicologist Alexis Temkin, Ph.D. “But more studies are needed to better understand the risks they — and all pesticides — pose to humans, particularly children.”

Temkin also suggested that consumers seeking fresh produce with low pesticide residues should purchase organic items listed on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen and organic or conventional versions of produce on the Clean Fifteen. Another option is to buy those items in the frozen food aisle, where many fruits and vegetables are picked at their freshness peak before being frozen.

The Clean Fifteen, in contrast to the Dirty Dozen, are fruits and vegetables with the lowest pesticide residues. This list includes the following items:

1. Avocadoes
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Frozen sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Honeydew melon
9. Kiwi
10. Cabbage
11. Watermelon
12. Mushrooms
13. Mangoes
14. Sweet potatoes
15. Carrots