How many pesticides are in the products you use? They publish a list of the most and least contaminated foods

(CNN) — About 95% of non-organic strawberries, leafy greens such as spinach and kale, collard greens and mustard greens, grapes, peaches and pears contain detectable levels of pesticides tested by the US government, according to the 2024 Buyer’s Guide to Produce.

Nectarines, apples, bell peppers, chili peppers, cherries, blueberries, and beans complete the list of the 12 most contaminated produce samples. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental and health advocacy organization that has produced an annual report since 2004, called it the “Dirty Dozen”.

Pesticides have been linked in studies to premature births, birth defects such as neural tube defects, spontaneous abortions and increased genetic damage in humans. Exposure to pesticides has also been linked to low sperm count, heart disease, cancer and other disorders.

According to studies, agricultural workers who use or are exposed to pesticides are most at risk. A 2022 meta-analysis found that workers exposed to pesticides were nearly five times more likely to develop DNA damage, while a February study found that children exposed at a young age showed poor neurological development from infancy to adulthood.

It’s not all bad news. Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, onions and papaya top the “Clean Fifteen” list of conventionally grown produce with the least traces of pesticides: nearly 65% ​​of fruits and vegetables in that group contain no pesticide residues. Traceable pesticides, according to the report, which was published on Wednesday.

The “Clean Fifteen” comes complete with frozen sweet peas, asparagus, watermelon, kiwi, cabbage, watermelon, mushrooms, mango, potatoes and carrots.

Washed, peeled and sterilized

Each year, the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration analyze a rotating list of domestic and imported products. USDA Pesticide Data Program staff wash, peel, and sanitize fruits and vegetables as consumers, while FDA workers clean dirt from produce. The fruits and vegetables are then tested for more than 250 different pesticides and the results are published online.

Through 2024, EWG researchers examined data from testing conducted on 47,510 samples of 46 non-organic fruits and vegetables, most of which came from the USDA. An analysis of that data found traces of 254 pesticides in all fruits and vegetables tested, 209 of which were chemicals in products on the “Dirty Dozen” list.

“What’s on one list and what’s on another list reflects how those fruits and vegetables are grown,” says Alexis Temkin, EWG’s chief toxicologist. “Avocados, for example, don’t use pesticides intensively, while strawberries grow very close to the ground and have a lot of pests.”

An unfair report for farmers, say critics

According to the EWG report, nearly 70% of non-organic products tested by the USDA and FDA have pesticide levels within legal limits allowed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. According to Carl Winter, professor emeritus of cooperative extension at the University of California, Davis, this fact makes the report misleading.

“The dose creates the poison, not its presence or absence, and that dose determines the potential for harm. In many cases, we would need to be exposed to millions of times more than what we are exposed to before an effect is seen.” Winter, on behalf of the Alliance for Food and Agriculture, which represents organic and conventional farmers.

However, “legal levels do not necessarily mean safe levels,” Temkin replied. He pointed to times when regulators allowed potentially dangerous chemicals, such as the pesticide DCPA, to remain on the market long after scientific research raised concerns. The herbicide had been linked to thyroid problems for years before the EPA told the public in 2023 that the chemical posed “significant risks to human health.”

Another example: chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to brain damage in children and fetuses. The American Academy of Pediatrics joined the EWG in 2017 in opposing the EPA’s continued approval of the chemical.

Additionally, government-banned pesticides continue to appear on crops sold in the United States, according to the EWG report.

“Green beans, for example, still show traces of acephate, a toxic pesticide that the EPA banned for use more than 10 years ago,” Temkin said. “Many of the pesticides found in the ‘Dirty Dozen’ are also banned in the European Union due to their harmful effects on human health.”

Another concern among critics is that the “Dirty Dozen” list is an insult to multi-generational farmers who struggle to grow food for the nation and feed the same produce to their own children, says the Pacific Northwest. said Steve Clement, executive director of Tree Fruit.

“When this report comes out, it feels like we’re getting a bit of a kick because we’ve been working so hard to put out a great, healthy product, and the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list means it’s not healthy,” Clement said. ,” Clement said. “It’s like doing something nice for someone and then they turn around and call you some kind of monster.”

The report could put people off eating the fruits and vegetables they need, said Neil Nagata, whose family has grown organic and conventional strawberries in Oceanside, Calif., for decades.

“Every time a report is released, or there’s a scare about imported strawberries, we see a drop in our sales,” Nagata said. “It’s not that we’re doing anything wrong or wrong, we’re actually producing very healthy and safe food. In fact, we live on a strawberry farm and my father is 100 years old and my mother is 97 years old, and they’re still Eat strawberries.”

EWG’s Temkin said it’s important for people to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, even those grown conventionally.

“We always emphasize that,” he said. “We want to allow consumers, who want to, to avoid pesticides as much as possible by choosing organic versions of the ‘Dirty Dozen,’ where pesticide levels will be lower, and then, if they want, choosing less expensive conventionally grown produce. “Clean Fifteen”.

Organic produce isn’t more nutritious, but studies have found that pesticide levels in the urine of adults and children can drop by up to 95% after switching to an organic diet.

High fungicide level

For the first time, EWG analysts studied reported levels of fungicides, a form of pesticide used to kill fungal diseases such as powdery mildew.

“Four of the most frequently found pesticides on the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list were fungicides, and they were also found at particularly high concentrations,” Temkin said.

According to the report, two fungicides, fludioxonil and pyrimethanil, have the highest concentrations on the “Dirty Dozen” list of any other pesticide. According to the report, fludioxonil was found in 90% of peaches and about 30% of all “Dirty Dozen” samples. Pyrimethanil was detected in 65% of pear samples, 30% of apple samples, 27% of grape samples, 26% of strawberry samples, and 24% of nectarine samples.

“Fungicide is applied post-harvest to keep produce mold-free until market. This is why concentrations in some samples were so high, higher than other pesticides applied earlier in the growing season,” Temkin explains. “Fungicide use is even closer to the time products are placed on store shelves and consumed by consumers.”

Fludioxonil forms a waxy coating on fruit or vegetables that studies show is difficult to remove. Although the EPA considers fludioxonil safe at controlled levels, some studies have raised concerns that it may disrupt the hormonal and neurological systems. By exposing breast cancer cells in petri dishes to fludioxonil, the fungicide increased cell production by 1.5%.

Pyrimethanil was classified as a “probable human carcinogen” by the EPA in 2004, but the agency determined in 2015 that the chemical is “unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans” at low doses. Studies have shown that the tree is toxic to frogs and aquatic life, and that it can alter thyroid levels in pregnant women living in agricultural areas. In laboratory tests, pyrimethanil and fludioxonil were shown to affect androgenic activity, hormones that contribute to growth and reproduction in both males and females.

Ways to reduce pesticides in food

Washing fruits and vegetables before eating reduces pesticide levels, but according to the National Pesticide Information Center, “no washing method is 100% effective at removing all pesticide residues.”

Start with clean hands, washing and rubbing products under the tap rather than letting them dry to remove the greatest amount of pesticides, the center recommends on its website.

However, do not use soaps, detergents, or commercial soaking or scrubbing products, as these have not been proven to be effective, according to the FDA. Dry products with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce any bacteria.